Fate of Men
by Toya Kei
Summary: Tifa had long ago accepted her fate, running the local blacksmith by herself while raising a child that is not her own. After tragedy once again strikes, Tifa is put on trial for defending herself. Will she try to live free or succumb to whims of others that threaten to decide her fate for her? AU –Medieval-Victorian-like era. Dark Fic. TxA TxS TxV Reverse Harem.
1. Social Norm

Chapter 1- Social Norm

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The air was thick and humid. The sky was threatening to rain with plump grey clouds blocking out the sun. Despite the high chance of rain, the town market was bustling with people buying, selling, and trading merchandise. The town was always filled with travellers but there were only about 500 permanent residents. Everyone knew everyone. The town of Nibelheim sat at the base of a mountain, set apart from the rest of the world. Most travellers came to visit the mountains and perhaps climb them. Noble families would occasionally spend a few months by the sea side to the west and would have to cross through the town to reach it.

Tifa slammed the hammer onto the hot metal, shaping it into its proper form. Her ears were used to the ringing after many years so it no longer bothered her. When she was finished, she picked up the newly crafted sword to inspect her handy would. She brought the heated metal up to eye level, making sure it was perfectly straight. The woman threw it into a bucket of water to her side to let the metal cool before she would begin to sharpen it. The garnet eyed girl discarded the hammer and straightened herself. She ran a pale, slender hand through her long dark chocolate locks. Her heart shaped face was covered with charcoal and thin layer of perspiration. The smithy was always boiling because of the forge.

Tifa Lockhart was the resident blacksmith of Nibelheim. She had taken over the business when she was 15 when her father passed away. It had been a long three years since then. She had undergone a great deal a criticism since women were meant to sew, cook, clean, get married, and produce offspring. At first men would look down upon her, but over time they were able to see how skilled she was at crafting weapons and armour.

The young woman picked up the sword from the water before taking it over to the grinding stone. She had just sat down on the stool when she heard someone call to her.

"Mommy?" A little boy in a beige tunic and shorts came up behind the woman. He had a pile of wispy dark hair around his head and dark brown eyes with flecks of crimson in them. He rubbed his face, the humidity causing him to become drowsy. "Are you making swords again?" He had a slight speech impediment.

Tifa put down the weapon and turned towards the four year old, remaining in her seat. She smoothed out her leather apron and readjusted the sleeves of her shirt, keeping them rolled up. Wearing a dress or any typical clothing that women wore around the forge was not very safe. She had tailored most of her father's old clothes to fit her wide hips, slender waist, ample bosom, and long, thin, legs.

"I am, Tius. You should go back inside; it isn't safe in here. There are lots of sharp objects." She ruffled his hair gently as she gave him a soft smile. Tifa was not the biological mother of Tius. In actuality, Tius was Tifa's younger brother. Their mother had died in child birth and then Tifa's father had died when Tius was still an infant. Struggling to hold on to the only family she had left, she raised the boy as her own and had been doing so since she was 14.

"I'm bored mommy," The little boy whined. "Can we go for a walk?"

Tifa glanced over at her unfinished weapon. She was a perfectionist through and through. Leaving a weapon in such a state was against every fibre of her being. "Alright, but afterwards I need to work really hard or else there will be no money for food. You don't want to be hungry do you?" She reached out to tickle his sides. The boy laughed and giggled. Tifa discarded her apron and left the smithy with the boy clutching her hand tightly.

The dark haired woman was very much aware of what people said about her. A young woman with no husband and a child was bad news. Her mother had been bed ridden for the majority of her pregnancy and most did not even know she was with child. When the child was born and Tifa had been the only one seen caring for it, people thought it had been hers. She was not upset by the rumours and accusations. She got what she wanted; isolation. Most only confronted her when they needed something repaired or a new sword.

Tifa and Tius walked through town, their heads held high. Just outside of town was small meadow. Tius began to skip through the meadow chasing afters grasshoppers and butterflies. Tifa smiled to herself at the sight of the small child. So carefree, without a worry in the world. Tifa longed to return to the days before she was forced to grow up. There was loud rumble of thunder above them. Tius had stopped his frolicking and came back to where the dark haired woman stood. The two began walking back to town so that they could get inside before the rain started.

They stopped in the middle of town when they noticed there was a large crowd gathering. "What's going on?" Tius whispered, squeezing her hand a little. Tifa shook her head. She bent down to let the boy climb onto her back so he could get a better view. He hooked his arms around her neck and she hooked her arms under his legs as she straightened up. The townspeople were all gathered around what looked like three heavily armoured men on horses and four large wagons each drawn by two powerful oxen with a hooded men at the reins. There was a group of less armoured men on horses surrounding the wagons.

"Townspeople of Nibelheim, I come here on behalf of his majesty, King Shinra. My name is general Sephiroth Crescent." One of the heavily armoured men spoke from his perch atop of his white stallion. He was a tall man with long silver hair and bold emerald eyes. His skin was pale and his features sharp. His voice had a commanding tone to it and his mere presence seemed to demand everyone's attention.

"He looks scary," Tius whispered nervously into Tifa's ear. She laughed lightly at his remark for it had been the same thing she was thinking.

"This is general Genesis Rhapsodas," the man named Sephiroth gestured to a slender but tall man on his left who had light aqua eyes and reddish brown hair. He looked a little more feminine than the other two, his features softer, which gave him a friendlier atmosphere. He appeared to be bored. She watched as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small book. The man began to read it quietly while the silver haired man continued to speak. "And this is general Angeal Hewley." He motioned to a man on his right who had brilliant azure eyes and dark, shoulder length hair. He had long side burns and a small tuft of hair on his chin. His shoulders were much broader which gave him the appearance of being stockier than the others. "We have been travelling all across Gaia looking for worthy young men who would give their lives to defending king and country."

"Let's go inside," Tifa said softly to the young boy. "This doesn't concern us."

"We will be here for the night; that is your time to enlist and prepare your things. You will transported to the city of Midgar and have to remain there until your services to the king have been fulfilled."

* * *

Tifa worked diligently at finishing up her daily quota. The rain had managed to hold off until evening. From what she could hear, the soldiers, recruits, and generals were in the tavern drinking to their hearts content.

"You are Master Lockhart, the Blacksmith?" A deep voice sounded from behind her. Tifa straightened and turned around slowly, fire bellows in hand.

"I am," she said firmly, eyeing up the man before. He had been one of the generals from earlier that day, Angeal. He was no longer wearing his heavy armour but rather dressed in a fancy noblemen tunic and trousers.

"A woman?" He more shouted than asked.

"Is there something you needed?" Tifa rolled her eyes as she placed down the bellows.

"Right, yes," The man lifted his arm to his shoulder where he unattached a massive sword that was strapped to his back. "My weapon received a few nicks and dents in it during my last battle. Normally I prefer not to use such a fine piece of weaponry but my other sword broke and I had no choice. Could you get rid of the scratches, give it a bit of a polish and a sharpen? I will pay you 500 gil if the job is done to my standards. 1000 gil if you can do it in within the next hour."

Tifa weighed her options. She didn't like to rush her work, it only made things sloppy and unprofessional. But, 1000 gil would be just what she needed to leave town to buy new material for higher class weapons. Not to mention, it would leave quite a bit left over for food and clothing. Tius had been growing a lot lately. She flicked her braid over her shoulder so it would be out of the way of her work. Tifa cautiously stepped towards the man and took the weapon. It was much heavier than she expected. As soon as he let go, she dropped it on the ground.

The man laughed at her. Tifa scowled. She was by no means a weak woman, but the sheer weight of the sword had caught her off guard. She had never worked with something so heavy before. Mustering up all of her strength, she picked the weapon up and dragged it towards the fire. She stuck it into the coals to heat it up before she brought it back towards an anvil, beginning to grow accustomed to the weight. Hammer in hand; she pounded out the dents in the weapon.

Angeal took a seat on a nearby pile of wood, watching her every movement. He noted the look a determination on her face. Her lips were pursed into a thin line. "Do you run this place all on your own?" He asked, raising his voice so it could be heard above the clashing of metal on metal.

"Yes," She grunted. Tifa had to put the sword back in the fire to heat it up once more since it had grown cold. "Are you planning on watching me the entire time?"

"I do not let my sword out of my sight." He stated calmly. "For 1000 gil I'm sure you won't complain." Tifa yanked the massive piece of metal out of the fire and continued hammering it. "What are you planning on doing with the money?" He asked after a long moment of silence.

"New materials. There's a man who sells a light weight steel on the other side of the mountains." Though she would never admit it, she rather enjoyed the company of others. It wasn't often that she found people knowledgeable about weapons and armour. Tius wasn't old enough to be introduced to the world of blacksmithing. When he was a bit older she would make him help out with small tasks like getting wood for the fire and fresh water. She flipped the weapon over and began working on the other side.

"I see. Do you get a lot of customers?" He stood up and walked around the shop, looking at all the weapons and armour on the walls. His fingers ran across a piece of chainmail.

"No, the monsters stopped bothering us when the fence was put up around the town so people haven't had the need purchase my products that often."

"How do you make any money?" His hand touched a silver dagger on the wall.

"Adventurers come looking for protection and they buy the more expensive things. Once a month a man comes and buys the majority of my inventory and sells it across Gaia." She inspected her handy work. Tifa took the sword over to the grinding stone. The stone began to turn as she pumped her foot on the pedal. Sparks began to fly when the metal hit the stone.

It took a little while but she managed to restore the sword to its former glory. When it was sharp enough and devoid of any nicks or dents, she gave it a good polish with a rag covered in something she had in a jar.

"What did you use for polish?" Angeal asked, taking the sword from her hand. He was able to see his reflection within the metal.

"It's best you didn't ask." She said, beginning to clean the smithy so she could retire for the evening. She hung her leather apron up on the wall.

"Right," He nodded and tossed her a sack of coins. She looked in it and saw that there was roughly 1000 gil.

The door from the smithy to the house creaked open. Little Tius padded out. "Mommy, I had a nightmare."

Tifa crouched down so she was eye level with the small child. "Go back inside; I'm just finishing up here. I will be right there." The boy's large eyes drifted towards the man standing in the centre of the shop.

"Who's he? Is that daddy?" The boy held onto Tifa's arm.

She laughed lightly. "No, he's a customer. Go back inside, sweetie."

"Good night, Master Lockhart," With that Angeal left the two of them.

"Ah man, the general beat us here." A young male voice sounded from where Angeal had been standing. Three young soldiers had wandered over from the tavern. Their speech was slurred and they swayed when they walked. Tifa could smell the alcohol from where she stood. Her back straightened as she rose to her feet, stepping in front of the boy.

"Heard the village whore lived here," One of them said, coming a little closer. The hairs on the back of Tifa's neck stood on end.

"She doesn't look much like one," a second man said.

"Look, she's got a kid but ain't got no man," The third one said.

"How much for an evening?" The first one spoke again coming even closer.

"I run a respectable business here. I am a blacksmith, _not_ a prostitute, so unless you have armour that needs repair or a sword that needs to be sharpened, I suggest you leave." She said firmly, her eyes narrowing.

"I got a sword for you to sharpen," With that, the first man lunged at Tifa, slamming her into a wooden work bench. She dropped the sack of gold on the floor, the coins scattered across the smithy. Tifa gasped in surprise, Tius shrieked and began crying. Tifa began pushing the man away but he grabbed a knife off the wall and held it tightly to her throat. "It will only hurt you if you resist. Just lie down and take it like the good little whore you are."

Tifa punched him roughly in the nose, causing him to drop the knife. The two other men grabbed her by her arms. The first man wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve. He slapped her across the face. She closed her eyes firmly from the pain.

"Don't hurt my mommy!" Tius ran up to the man with the bloody nose and began hitting his tiny fists against the man's leg.

"Scram kid!" The man kicked the boy away. Tius gasped for air as he huddled over. Upon seeing the boy hurt, Tifa began to flail in her captors' grip. She grunted and squirmed until she was free. She kneed one of them in the groin who proceeded to huddle over in pain and she punched the other in the stomach who gasped for air.

"Bitch!" The first man decked her in the jaw. She gave him a kick to the shin before she ducked around him and went to Tius' side. She had almost reached him when she was hauled back by a violent tug on her hair. She yelped in pain. The man she had kicked in the stomach had recovered and grabbed the small child by his collar. The boy spat in his face. The man reached down to his waist and plucked the sword from his belt.

"Fucking brat!" With a swift jab, he stabbed the boy through his small chest. The boys screaming stopped.

Tifa's screaming however, had just begun. Time seemed to slow down for her. Every second felt drawn out and painful. Her heart pounded in her chest and her pulse rang in her ears. She moved in a frenzy of kicks, punches and bites. She clawed and scratched each man. Hot tears burned and stained her face but she paid no mind to the pain. The men continued to fight her. Working around the forge most of her life had given her the strength she needed to thwart them. The assault on the little boy had filled her entire body with adrenaline, rage, and despair. She picked up her hammer, slammed it against the nearest man, and shattered his forearm with it. That had caused him to retaliate and uppercut her in the stomach. She coughed up a bit of clear liquid.

It wasn't long before the commotion had brought the majority of the town out. A crowd had begun to gather around the smithy. Tifa paid no attention to them, completely intent on avenging the boy's death. Tifa brought the hammer crashing down on one of the men's shoulder blades, hearing a resounding crack.

"What the hell is going on here?" The silver haired general stepped forward, grabbing Tifa by the shoulder. The dark haired girl turned around and punched him in the chest. When he didn't react she quickly clawed at his head, leaving four deep gauges down his neck. The three younger soldiers had stopped moving. Silence filled the air. Tifa pushed off the man's chest and ran over to the boy.

She picked the boy up and cradled his lifeless form in her arms. She made a loud noise that sounded like a cross between howling and crying. She rocked back and forth with him in her arms. "Someone get the doctor!" She cried out. No one moved to help her; the townsfolk began to whisper their gossip. "Please!" She begged. No one responded. In the heat of the moment, Tifa stood up and bolted out into the rain with the boy in her arms. She ran and ran until she found his favourite place to play; the meadow. She dropped to her knees once again.

She cried for hours in the rain. Tius' blood staining her white shirt. Tifa fell asleep in that position and wasn't woken until morning when his body evaporated into tiny strands of green and blue light and floated towards the sky to join the Lifestream. She looked up towards the still overcast sky. Her throat hurt from screaming, her body from fighting and sleeping in an awkward position, and her heart from the loss of a loved one. She shivered violently, her clothing still wet from the rain.

She rose to her feet. Tifa turned away from the meadow and wandered back in the direction of town. She walked with a limp, an injury she had sustained from the tussle. Her arms were folded tightly across her torso. Her eyes were sore and blood shot. When she made it back to town, a crowd was gathered in the middle of the market again. The wagons seemed to be packed and the men were on their horses, no doubt ready to leave.

"Tifa Lockhart," a loud voice called her attention. She looked up. It was the silver haired general. He held an unreadable emotion in his eyes but otherwise his face remained passive. She shook her head and walked to the smithy. She frowned as her face contorted in confusion when she saw that all of her merchandise was missing. She heard light trotting as two horses came up to stand behind her. "You are being charged with assault on a general and assault on Shinra soldiers. You will be taken to Midgar and will be made to stand before the king who will judge you for your actions. Your goods have all been confiscated in the name of King Shinra."

Tifa was beginning to feel sick. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy. She placed a palm on her head, her skin was on fire. It wasn't long before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open. She found herself in the back of a wagon. She sat up slowly to look around. The wagon appeared to be filled with crates and barrels of food and drink. Her wrists and ankles had been bound together, her hair was dishevelled and no longer in a braid, her clothing reeking of blood. She still felt weary, but she didn't feel like she had a fever anymore. A blanket had been placed over her sometime while she slept.

"Oh good, you're awake," Her eyes shot towards Angeal who had been riding by the wagon. "Was beginning to think you'd never recover." He smirked a little, trying to lighten the mood. "You've been out for two days."

Tifa frowned when she looked around at the landscape from the back of the wagon. There were no land features she recognized. She laid back down and rolled over so her back was facing him. She curled up into the fetal position and closed her eyes even though she was wide awake. Angeal watched her.

"It will be a few more days before we reach the boat that will take us back to Midgar. Then you will be put on trial, but if you explain what happened, I'm sure they'll let you off easy," He said.

Tifa ignored him, just listening to the sound of the wagons and horses. When dusk came and the men had stopped, she sat up again and moved out of the way so they could grab some crates and barrels out of the wagon. She felt nervous with the soldiers watching her as they continued their work.

"Hey, why don't you come out of the wagon for a bit and have something to eat by the fire." Angeal stood just outside the wagon. He had his hand held out towards her. Tifa shifted her gaze between him and his hand. She shook her head after a moment. He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "It's safer with me. If you stay here, you might be bothered by some of the younger soldiers."

"Why do you care?" Tifa scowled at him.

"I understand that it wasn't your fault," He said without any hesitation. Tifa sighed. She still didn't trust him, but she hadn't eaten in two days. She wasn't hungry but she knew her body would shut down if she did not get something soon. The young woman scooted towards where the man was. She held her feet out for him to undue her bindings. He removed the rope from around her ankles and wrists. Tifa mumbled a thank you as she let him lead her to where he had set up camp with the other generals. They had their own separate fire away from the other troops.

She stood for a moment awkwardly as Angeal fished around in a crate in order to produce a few pieces of fruit. He tossed her an apple before he took a seat next to Genesis. Tifa sat down by the fire with the apple. She diverted all her attention to the golden piece of fruit. Cautiously, she took a small bit of it. She chewed it thoughtfully, savouring the sweet taste of the fruit. She was aware that they were watching her, but she didn't care.

"In all my years, I have never seen a woman as fierce as you," Genesis spoke softly. She glanced up at him briefly before returning her focus to the apple. There was no way he was over 30. "You were able to fend off three soldiers. That is a very impressive feat."

When she had finished the apple, she placed the core gently on the ground. She looked around in each direction. They were surrounded by prairies on each side. If she were to make an escape it would have to be when everyone was sleeping.

"How old are you Lockhart?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at her, taking in all her features.

"18," She said quietly.

"18?" Angeal spoke up. "But your son looked like he was five."

Tifa felt a sharp pain in her heart as she remembered her beloved Tius. Her eyes began to grow glossy. "He was four."

"Where was his father?" Genesis' eyes seemed to be filled with curiosity. She frowned at their lack of sensitivity.

She clutched her arms tightly as her mind began to bring unpleasant memories to the foreground. "I don't know but he deserves to rot." When she didn't say anything more, the generals began to discuss battle plans. As the night surrounded them, the soldiers began to unroll their sleeping bags and some crawled into tents. A few remained awake so that they could go on patrol. Tifa was growing tired herself. Genesis and Sephiroth had both retired to their tents. Angeal had stayed awake to poke at the dying fire.

"My tent has room for two. You should probably get some rest." He motioned to the tent directly behind him. Tifa frowned at him as she shook her head. The young woman lay down in the dirt. She rolled onto her side, her back facing the fire. Angeal shrugged as he continued to stir the coals of the fire. He could just barely make out her side rising and falling with each breath she took. Soon her breathing slowed down completely and she was fast asleep. He grudgingly left the fire side and entered his tent but not before he tied the end of some rope around her ankle and the other end around one of the poles of his tent.

A couple of hours went by and Tifa woke up. The moon could no longer be seen which told her that it was well into the night. She rose and stretched her muscles until she heard the pop of air leaving her joints. She took her time stretching her long legs so she wouldn't pull a muscle. Tifa narrowed her eyes as she looked in every direction. The light of the dying campfire coals showed her the outline of the general's tents.

Tifa bolted towards the open prairies, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't get very before she felt flat on her face, her rope shackle tripping her. She heard some groaning behind her. The dark haired girl bent down quickly to try to undo the knot at her ankle. She fiddled with it in the dark with no avail. Tifa stood up and began running again, feeling like she was dragging something heavy on the other end of the rope. She tipped again, her face hitting the soft, cool grass. She grunted before attempting to get back up. The woman pushed up on her arms but felt on her front once again when someone began pulling the rope back to camp.

Her hands shot out and tried to grab onto the grass and dirt to keep her still. She began to hear cussing and shouting that grew louder the more she was dragged. She flipped on to her back, to see whomever it was holding the rope. She could just barely make out the form of Angeal standing above her. The garnet eyed girl looked over to their tents to see that all three of them had been knocked over. She couldn`t clearly see the generals' faces but she guessed that they were fuming.

Sephiroth strode over to her. He bent down and grabbed a fist full of her hair, yanking her head back. She grimaced. "Don't you ever try a stunt like that again." He hit her on the head, hard, knocking the girl unconscious.

* * *

_**A/n: Alright, chapter 1. Poor Tifa, nothing seems to go her me know what you guys think. I appreciate constructive criticism. Oh and stayed tuned for the Prequel to Unholy Encounters... I need to think of a name for it. I hope I'm gaining some popularity for this pairing. I like alternate universe stories. I've had this one on my computer for over a month and decided I should stop being so self-conscious and actually publish something. It gets better, or worse, depending on your standing on angsty stories. I don't think I wrote anyone out of character... let me know if I did, I try not to but sometimes it happens by accident. Review Please, if you hated it or enjoyed it. I wish to get better. I have a strong hate for OC'S but it was either Tius or Denzil and I didn't want to use Denzil for this part because he will appear later.**_


	2. Childminder

_**Chapter 2- Childminder**_

* * *

Tifa was woken up with a start. Her head felt heavy and groggy, her vision blurred and hazy. Her wrist bindings were yanked forward and she felt a pair of thick, muscular arms circle around her waist. Her body refused to move, denying her the ability to fight back. She was draped over someone shoulder as the person began to move. All she could see were lights and dark shapes. She groaned loudly, a splitting headache setting in.

The last thing she could clearly remember was trying to escape the camp before getting knocked out. Hazy images filled her mind of Angeal brining her strange drinks that made her feel drowsy. There was no telling exactly how long she was out. She knew that her clothes were stained with blood, sweat, grass, and coal and that her face was caked in grime. Her hair appeared more like a mane; completely tangled and sprouting off in every direction. She felt weak, no doubt from malnutrition.

She was plopped unceremoniously on a tiled floor in a seated position. Tifa couldn't move any of her extremities, including her head. She was vaguely aware that her mouth was open and she was drooling on the smooth, cool stone. Her head lolled to the side, unable to support itself. She felt the presence of many other people in the room. Her bindings were taken off.

"My Generals, you have returned from your long journey. I trust you were successful in delivering my message?" A gruff, deep voice said from the other side of the room. Tifa deduced that the room was large and spacious by the echoing of his voice. She painted a picture in her head of a prosperous, wealthy man speaking. He had called them _his _generals which meant that he was most likely King Shinra. If she could panic, she would've. Instead, another warm string of drool rolled down her chin.

"We were, my king," A soft male voice that Tifa imagined belonged to Genesis spoke. "We have also acquired six dozen new recruits along the way."

"Excellent. We shall have a welcoming feast tonight in your names!" He clapped his hands loudly. Tifa heard the scurrying of feet. Her vision came into focus. She saw elaborate black and white marble stone floor tiles. The young woman could not move her head to look around the room. Her eyes would not move. The only motor control of her body she held was over her eye lids. "And what have you brought with you?"

Tifa immediately felt uncomfortable, feeling as if she were the centre of attention. An unconscious shiver shot up her spinal column.

"A woman blacksmith from Nibelheim. She fought three of your men and assaulted a general. We have brought her back for trial." Sephiroths deep voice spoke, Tifa felt he was standing just behind her. She mentally cringed.

"Well, lass, what do you have to say for yourself?" The king asked. Tifa couldn't reply. She felt someone kick her lightly in an attempt to get her to speak. She fell over on her side. After a moment of silence the man continued, "Why, I hardly believe such a mentally incompetent creature could pull off something like that." He let out a loud guffaw.

"Sire, she is quite the live one. We had to drug her in order to get her back here." Genesis spoke up.

"Why do you bother me with such trivial things?" The king spoke, irritation evident in his voice. "Throw her in the stockades to rot for the rest of her life and repent for her crimes." She heard the heavy clanking of armour moving towards her, no doubt guards moving to escort her to the stockades.

"If I might speak, my lord," Angeal cleared his throat. "The woman was only defending her child who had been murdered at the hands of one of your men. The assault on the general was purely a defensive reflex. She was very, very protective over the child and was willing to get herself killed for him." Angeals words seemed cryptic; like there was something he only wanted the King to understand.

"I see, I see." Tifa was able to move her eyes towards the king as he nodded in confirmation. As she had guessed, he was a plump man. He sat on a large silver throne surround by an assortment of courtesans, knights, guards, courtiers and noblemen. He had bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

"Reno, Rude, put her in the holding cell for now. General Hewley, I would like to see you in the study."

Tifa heard the clinking of metal before she was hoisted to her feet and thrown over someone else's shoulder. Only able to stare at the before of the man carrying hers legs and the floor, she passively watched as they left the nice polished floor to gravel courtyard to a dirt road. She could hear towns people off in the distance over the clinking of armour. They stopped and one of the men fished in his armour for a set of keys. There was a light click followed by the loud screeching of rusted hinges. She was dropped onto her back on a pile of hay. The iron barred door was shut and relocked. She caught a glimpse of flaming red hair before the two men disappeared.

Tifa twitched her index finger on her right hand. She looked down at her filth covered digits. Although she was not raised in the richest conditions, she had prided herself on her general hygiene. This was the dirtiest she had ever been. She sniffed; the cell smelt of vomit, urine, and feces. Soon all the fingers began to move on her right hand. Slowly she wiggled her toes inside her worn boots. The burnet rolled her neck, gaining full control of her head again. She jerked her right shoulder forward, shaking out her right arm. Her legs began to tingle as if she was being pricked by thousands of tiny needles. She groaned at the pain.

Tifa laid still as she let to pain subside before she tried to shake her legs. Her left arm remained inactive. She cursed and stopped moving again. Her thoughts travelled back towards little Tius. A silent tear escaped the corner of her eye and rolled down her face, landing in her unruly hair. She began to sob, now that she was awake and alone. Her chest heaved at the sharp intakes of breath. She covered her eyes with her right forearm.

The girl immediately stopped when she heard footsteps heading in her direction. She ducked in to the shadows, out of sight. "Master Lockhart?" Angeal stepped up to the iron bars and looked in. Tifa lunged at the bars, grabbing one of them with her only useful hand. He took a step back, surprise crossing his features before he returned to a stoic expression.

"You!" She shouted angrily at the man. "You did this to me! All of you damn soldiers!"

"I regret what happened to your son, but assaulting Shinra troops is a criminal offense. You must reap what you sew." He said coolly.

"What I sew? _**What I sew?**_" She shouted. "I have news for you buddy! I worked my ass off on the forge for 365 days a year for three years to support the only living relative I had left in the world. I've lived in poverty, went nights without food, suffered in silence as an entire town looked down on me with pity and judgement in their eyes. I dropped everything to earn your money for fixing that sword of yours. As soon as you left those bastards attacked me because someone told them I was a prostitute! What should I have done instead, all mighty general?" Her words were dripping with sarcasm and hatred. "Let those pigs rape me in front of a child?" Her attention went back to her numb extremity. "Why the fuck was I unable to move? Did someone steal my virginity while I was unconscious? HUH? Answer me damn it?"

"Your virginity? Did you not have a child already?" Angeal stared at her in shock and confusion. His forehead creased as he watched the girl slide down the bar and slump to the ground. "No one touched you while you were unconscious. You never left my side."

"You soldiers are always bad news..." She mumbled softly.

Angeal scratched the back of his head. "Your punishment has been decided." Tifa shrank a little as she waited for the verdict. "You will become the governess for Shinra's children." Her head shot up to look at him, attempting to discern if he was pulling her leg or not.

"What?" Her voice was low and raspy from shouting.

"You will work as the governess until King Shinra's children reach a point where they no longer require you. The last governess passed away and the king has been looking for someone to take over the position."

"Doesn't a governess teach the children?" She frowned in confusion.

"In your case no," Angeal folded his arms across his chest, swaying a little. "They have private tutors. Your job will be to just make sure the children do as their told."

"So, a nanny, not a governess," She mumbled.

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his head again. "You need to be cleaned before you are introduced to the children." Angeal unlocked the door and lead the young woman out of the cell. She looked around the courtyard. The cell had been more like a barred shack pressed up against a massive stone wall with several other shacks. He escorted her through the gravel courtyard up to an enormous, towering castle. Tifa gawked. She had never seen a building so grand.

Angeal lead inside, passed some guards standing at attention. A group of maids came up to her and started pulling her in the opposite direction of the dark haired man. She didn't know him that well, but he was the only face she recognized. Tifa turned around in their grip and reached out for Angeal. He shook his head at her. Tifa was yanked backwards by the maids, dragging her towards the bathroom. Just as she was about to round a corner she saw him whisper something to an older maid who nodded in return.

Tifa was thrown into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed the young women began tearing of her dirty clothes. One of them turned the tap to the bath tub and the porcelain bowl began to fill with water. Soap, oils and other scented products were added to the water. Tifa protested loudly. She hated being touched. The young burnet was shoved towards the now full bath tub. The back of her knees hit the edge of the basin and she tripped. She fell into the scalding water, half of it leaving the tub when she became submerged in it. She bolted upright, gasping in surprise and for air while she wiped her damp hair out of her face.

She didn't have time to recover. The maids were on her in an instant, rubbing soap in her hair and grabbing her arms so they could scrub. One of the maids reached into the tub and pulled her leg out to wash it. The maids washed her until her scalp and her skin was pink and raw. Then something happened that she had not expected. The maids took thin, sharp daggers and removed all her body hair. She was pulled out of the dirt and hair covered tub and toweled off. The older maid walked in, followed by another maid who was holding a set of clothes. The older woman walked up to her, circling her a couple of times.

Tifa suddenly felt self conscious, she brought her hands up to conceal her breasts and lower region, noticing that her left arm was working again. The woman snapped and her hands were pried away from her by two other maids. The woman moved closer to Tifa. The feeling of dread rose from the pit of her stomach.

"Spread her legs," The older woman ordered. The two more maids moved to do as the woman ordered.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Tifa snarled at the younger girls. They didn't listen and pulled her legs apart. The older woman stuck a bony digit inside Tifa's womanhood for a split second. Tifa yelped and jerked in their grip at the unwanted intrusion. "HEY!"

"Dress her," The woman ordered as she washed her hands. Tifa was thrown into a long black dress, white stockings, and a pair of black buckled boots. The dress was adorned with white lace around the collar, hem and cuffs. The material was tight against her bosom but not tight enough to restrict her breathing. Her haired was combed out and done up into a tight bun. The older maid dragged her out of the bathroom and down the hall. They stopped when they saw Angeal leaning against the wall. He looked at the older maid expectantly. "She is intact." Tifa frowned in confusion.

She had little time to dwell on the woman's words before she was whisked down that hallway again, passing numerous expensive paintings. There was a slender woman waiting by a pair of large mahogany doors. She had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She beamed at the older maid and Tifa as they walked towards her. The woman wore a dark blue dress that looked simple yet refined.

"Greetings! Welcome to Midgar!" The blonde woman said. "Thank you Dolores, I will take it from here." The older maid grunted in reply before leaving Tifa with the woman. "Hello there, I'm Elena!" She spoke animatedly, waving her arms around.

"Tifa," the dark haired woman replied.

"So you are to be the new nanny," She smiled at Tifa, flashing her ultra white teeth. "The children are having their lessons at the moment, but I'll show you around and tell you a bit about them." The woman pushed open the double doors to reveal a wide and spacious room with massive windows on the far wall and a high ceiling. Tifa couldn't help but feel tiny in comparison to such extravagant architecture. The room was filled with books jammed into shelves, parchment covered desks, and various children's toys. In the centre were white couches surrounding a glass table with white legs. "The children's bed rooms are over there, as well as the nursery and bathroom." Elena pointed to a white washed door with golden door knob.

"Nursery?" Tifa looked at the woman. "I have to look after infants?"

"No, no," Elena laughed lightly. "Not at the moment. The king is unmarried. Although I'm sure he will take a third wife." She clasped her hands together. "You main duty will be attending to the children, keeping them entertained but in line. Nobility doesn't like to see or hear children so you have to keep them out of their parents' hair. The maids clean up after them and the cooks feed them so you don't have to worry about that."

"How many of them are there?"

"There are six." She said enthusiastically. "Lazard is 19, Scarlet is 14, Rufus is 13, Denzel is 9 and Marlene is 6."

"That's only five," Tifa recounted the names.

"Ah, yes, Elena is 17." She pointed to herself.

"Your majesty," Tifa bowed slightly. The girl shook her head and laughed again.

"No, I'm not royalty. Only Scarlet, Rufus and Denzel are. Lazard, Marlene and I were all born out of wedlock so we can never ascend to the throne. Marlene, Scarlet and I wouldn't anyways since we're women."

"Do you get tutored like the others?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "My mother was a young maid, I lived with her until she passed away when I was 12. After that King Shinra gave me a higher status in exchange for working around the castle. I pretty much oversee social functions and make sure things go according to plan. Lazard's situation is a little different. His mother was a courtesan but the woman could not afford to keep her son and his majesty let him live within the castle. Lazard was taught by some of the finest teachers across the land. He looks and acts like nobility, but he will always be the bastard son of the king. He is an excellent strategist and is well versed in the ways of war though he will never actually enter combat because his body is weak and frail. You don't have to worry about Lazard or myself, we do our own thing and do not live within the children's wing of the castle."

"What about the other four children?"

"Scarlet is a bitch," Elena frowned. Tifa quirked her eyebrow at her bluntness. "She hates other woman and ugly or poor men. She is only 14 but she acts much older. She will have to find a husband soon, I pity the man who has to put up with here. She isn't going to like you very much but don't take it personally. She's a shallow jealous leech. Rufus is the next in line for the throne. He is being groomed to become the king. Denzel is the only child born from the King's second wife, Eleanor. Nobody really knows how Marlene came to live here. Some say that the King adopted her others say that he sired her. I have my own theory."

"And what is that?"

"Well, anyone related to the royal family can be instantly told apart from everyone else. You see, we all have light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Denzel's hair is a tiny bit darker than ours but he has the trademark Shinra eyes." She pointed to her face, showing off her eyes. "Marlene has dark brown hair and brown eyes. I don't think she has a drop of Shinra blood in her. But no one questions the King."

The door behind the two women opened. Three blonde haired children and a dark haired little girl walked into the room. "And what do we have here? Some dirty street urchin trying to make it in the world?"The oldest spoke. Tifa identified her as Scarlet. The girl was wearing a long red dress with her hair half done up and cascading down the sides of her face. Her lips were painted the same bright red as her dress. The dress hung low with no arms and had a long slit up the side to reveal her thigh. Tifa thought she looked more like a harlot than a princess. _Scarlet the Harlot_. Tifa smiled to herself at the nickname.

"Don't be mean!" The youngest boy, Denzel, scolded Scarlet, stamping his foot on the floor. He wore a blue and grey tunic with matching velvet shorts. His sandy blonde hair was wild and unruly. Rufus rolled his eyes and sauntered off to the couch where he plopped down. He brought his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He was wearing a similar outfit to his younger brother but his was a black button-up tunic with blue shorts.

"What did you say? How dare you speak to me like that?" The girl raised her hand. Tifa quickly ran up behind the girl and grabbed her tiny wrist.

"We mustn't hit," Tifa frowned.

"Get your filthy hands off me you grimy criminal!" Tifa released the girl who stormed in what Tifa guessed was her room. She turned towards Denzel who stared up at her with bright eyes.

"Are you alright?" Tifa asked. Denzel nodded happily. They turned to see Elena covering her mouth as she tried to contain her laughter.

"You will do just fine here," Elena said.

* * *

Tifa spent the rest afternoon playing with Marlene and Denzel. Rufus had been content doing his own thing and Scarlet had not been seen, much to Tifa's relief. The two youngest had shown her was she would sleep at night, inside the children's wing next to Marlene's room. They ate some snacks during mid afternoon. It wasn't enough to satisfy Tifa's unbearable hunger but enough to keep her from collapsing at any moment. When it came time for the feast, Tifa was asked to escort the children to the dining hall and then blend into the shadows in case she had to take a child back to their room.

Her stomach rumbled loudly but she had been told she was not allowed to eat until after the children had gone to sleep. Tifa stood in a dark corner watching as dozens of people sat around a long wooden table. The younger soldiers ate in the main dining hall, out of sight of the dignitaries. King Shinra sat at the head of the table. On his right was a rat-like man with dark haired pulled behind his head and circular glasses. To the kings left was a slender blonde haired man with bright blue eyes and thin, rectangular glasses. The next two sets of seats were occupied by a woman with light chestnut hair tied in a high pony tail wearing a purple dress and man with short dark hair wearing glasses as well. Moving down the table were two light brown haired women looking to be mirror images of each other. One had braided hair tied back into a bow and the other let her long wavy hair flow. Upon closer inspection Tifa found that the one with the braid was appeared younger than the other. Tifa guessed they were either mother and daughter or distant sisters.

Next to the younger girl sat a boy with midnight spiky hair and brilliant blue eyes. Tifa had to do a double take, thinking he was Angeal. Across from him was another Shinra-esk looking man with spiky blonde hair and the trademark Shinra eyes she had heard all about. Next to the two boys sat Angeal and Genesis. Next to Genesis sat Sephiroth. Tifa had watched Scarlet weasel herself next to Sephiroth. Next to Angeal was a slender dark haired man with crimson eyes. The word _vampire _crossed her mind at the sight of him. Next to him was Denzel. Across from Denzel sat another dark haired man with some sort of mark in the middle of his forehead and next to him sat Elena. Across from Elena sat a young dark haired girl. Next to her was a large dark haired man dressed in foreign clothing. Marlene sat across from him. Table was filled with many more noble looking people with Rufus sitting at the other end of the table, looking bored.

Tifa clutched her stomach as it let out another loud rumble when the food came in. "You get used to it after a while," a monotone voice spoke next to Tifa, startling her.

"Gah!" Tifa gasped in surprise as she turned to see a young scullery maid with orange hair and pale blue eyes. She looked very young, anywhere between 9 and 13.

"My name is Shelke Rui, do not be frightened," She said in the same monotone voice.

"Tifa Lockhart," The dark haired woman replied. Tifa turned her attention back to the people stuffing their faces and filling their gullets. "Who are all these people?"

"Most of them work for the king but there are a few who do not. Of course you know King Shinra; next to him is his son Lazard Duesericus and the royal advisor Hojo. Next to the Hojo is his wife Lucrecia Crescent. Across from her is Professor Gast, the castle doctor. Next to Gast is his wife Ifalna Gainsborough and across from her is their daughter Aerith. Next to Aerith is Zack Fair, a general. Across from him is Cloud Strife, the Kings nephew and a general. Then there are Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, both generals. Next to Genesis is another general, Sephiroth Crescent, the only child of Hojo and Lucrecia. Then there's the sixth and last general, Vincent Valentine. Of course you've met the children. Scarlet has it bad for Sephiroth, which would be an ideal match but he doesn't seem to care for her. The man next to Scarlet is the captain of the guard, Tseng. Elena spends all of her free time in his company. The foreign pair are Emperor of Wutai Godo Kisaragi and his daughter Yuffie Kisaragi. They claim to be here on business, but everyone knows that he's trying to set up his daughter with Rufus."

"What do you do here?" Tifa asked the small girl.

"I am not a maid Miss Lockhart. I do not clean up after people and I do not serve them." Shelke returned her attention to gathering of people

"What _do _you do then?"

"I merely observe. My job is to blend into the shadows and watch. Then I report any suspicious findings to the King. He is very paranoid. They call me Shelke the Transparent, or at least they do when they think I'm not around. But, I see everything."

"What do you mean you see everything? That isn't possible."

The girl lest out an exasperated sigh. "Scarlet pressed her thigh against Sephiroth's, Sephiroth shifted away slightly, uncomfortable by her attention. Aerith and Zack's hands touched as he passed her some wine, the two are embarrassed and haven't looked at each other in a while. Denzel is talking off Vincent's ear. Godo keeps whispering something in Yuffie's ear which makes her divert her attention from Vincent to Rufus." She paused for a moment. "Earlier today Angeal brought you into the castle from the holding cell. He asked the head maid to check if you were a virgin."

"EH?" Tifa took a step back, blushing a little. "Why would he do something like that?"

"It might have something to do with the fact the he keeps glancing up at you when he thinks no one is watching." Shelke didn't talk for the rest of the feast.

After desert, Tifa took Marlene and Denzel back to bed since it was getting quite late. She tucked them into bed and blew out the candles. The only light in their rooms was the moon shining in the windows. She waited a few moments for the children to fall asleep before she ran back to her room. She yanked the blankets off her bed, tying the ends of them to each other. She pushed open the large window in her room after tying one end of her makeshift rope to her bedpost. Tifa looked out the window. There was a balcony a little ways down that she needed the sheets to reach then she could scale the wall until she reached the ground since the lower part of the castle bricks jutted out all along the wall.

She tossed the blankets out. The vermilion eyed girl tore her black dress so she would have more mobility. It stopped about mid thighs. Tifa stood on the ledge of the window sill, holding the blankets firmly as she began to slide down. She stopped when she heard the balcony doors open. The burnet held her breath and clung to the sheets for dear life, praying that they had not seen her.

Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth walked out into the cool night air. "It sounds like you two are getting old." Genesis said.

"No, I just think it's something to consider." Angeal replied as sat on the edge of the balcony.

"Speaking of something to consider," Sephiroth casually changed the subject. "You sure went out of your way to help that girl. You took care of her the entire trip then got her the job as the childminder."

"Yes it does sound like our dear Angeal is pining for a young lass," Genesis said lightly. Angeal shot him a death glare.

"You're more like your cousin than you thought," Sephiroth added.

"Zack and I are nothing alike. And what about you?" Angeal pointed at his silver haired comrade. "Scarlet seems quite taken with you, why don't you just ask to become betrothed so you can marry her when she comes of age."

Sephiroth shook his head, his silver hair swaying as he did. "I do not like her. She would be the death of me. Not to mention I'm almost twice her age. I like smaller age gaps."

"And you, what about Cissnei?" Angeal directed his attention to Genesis.

"She's nice..." Genesis said. He stretched and fake yawned. "Well, I'd better get going. New recruit training starts bright and early." Genesis left the two in silence.

After a moment, Sephiroth said, "I best be going too." He left Angeal alone.

Angeal stared out over the city of Midgar. Tifa's palms were beginning to grow moist from sweat. She held on even tighter, not wanting to be caught. Angeal stood up and headed for the door. Tifa lost her grip and slide down the blanket. She was unable to stop herself from falling. The young woman landed on Angeal, knocking him to the ground. She quickly rose to her feet.

He groaned and clutched the back of his head where he had hit it off the ground. "What are you doing?"

"None of your business!" Tifa said, running over to the edge of the balcony. She threw one leg over the side. "You didn't see me."

"I can't just let you escape," He scowled. Angeal righted himself and grabbed her arm. "Where would you even go?" Tifa frowned, tears threatening fall. She had lived for Tius. Now she found herself without a purpose.

"I want a life that is mine," She tried, unsuccessfully, to pull out of his stone grip. "I do not serve others."

"Who are you really, Lockhart?" Angeal pulled her off the ledge so she was standing just in front of him. He did not release her from his grip. He grabbed her other wrist with his hand, staring into her eyes. "You raised a child that was not yours, learned a man's profession, fought against three men who were much bigger than you, and tried to escape from the custody of trained soldiers, twice now. You refuse any help offered to you and you wear clothing unbefitting of a young lady. You also have the mouth of coal miner."

"I do what I need to survive," Tifa said matter-of-factly, trying to pull out of his grip. His hands only tightened. "Stop touching me!"

"What is your story, Tifa Lockhart?" His eyes were intense and Tifa felt uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.

"You people are all the same! Demanding and greedy. I hate soldiers! All of you. You think you can just get people to do whatever you want! Like we should bend to your will. I had dreams of my own! I had wants and desires." The tears quickly fell as she shouted.

Angeal pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms securely around her small frame. "What happened to you?" He whispered, more to himself than her. She sobbed against his chest, her shoulders shaking.

"No one came. I'm was all alone."

* * *

_**A/n: I sincerely hope the people reading this are not like eww! When they read this chapters contents. I made it longer than the last chapter because I challenge myself to make each chapter a little bit longer than the last. Lots of new characters to meet, sorry, I had to get it out of the way. Oh, some of you may be like, why does he care about her virginity? Well, to that I say, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. *Wiggles eyebrows.* When I started writing this chapter, the era came out more Victorian sounding but without electricity. Indoor plumbing is a must; I don't want to write about chamber pots. That's gross. Let me know what you guys think... all 2 of you that actually reviewed. **_


	3. Deviant

_**A/n: Big thanks to Sassay for being my new, awesome Beta reader!**_

Chapter 3- Deviant

* * *

_High pitched screaming filled the small dwelling. A woman lay with her back against the floor and her knees bent. Her dark satin hair lay splayed across the wooden tiles. She screamed between each of her quick ragged breaths. The woman clutched tightly onto the hand of her daughter by her side. She squeezed the girl's hand each time her body was wracked with a painful contraction. The vermillion eyed girl had tears flowing from her eyes. She cradled her mother's head on her knees._

"_Mother, you have to let go, I need to get a doctor." Tifa pleaded with her mother, sobbing. _

"_No," The woman grunted. "Don't leave me." The woman shrieked in pain as her spine lurched forward._

"_Th-there's too much blood! Something's wrong, please, let me get help!" Tifa eyes burned as a fresh set of tears ran down her cheeks, landing on her mother's face._

"_Stay. With. Me. Tifa. You can. Do it." The woman encouraged as she spoke slowly between each ragged breath. The young girl navigated her way around her mother's body, releasing the woman's hand and head. She perched herself on her knees between her mother's legs._

"_I can't do this," Tifa sobbed loudly. A hour later there was a gasp for air followed by the crying of an infant. The child had been born breach and almost didn't make it out. The young girl held the child in her arms, not caring if she got dirty. She subdued the infants cries, wrapping it in a clean blanket. "Mom, it's a boy." She looked over at her mother._

_The woman gave her a weak smile. "Tius, that's what his name will be." Her head dropped back against the floor. _

"_Mom?" Tifa rose to her feet. "Mother?!" _

_The door to the dwelling burst open. A burly dark haired man entered. His brown eyes flashed towards Tifa then back towards the woman. "Is it done?" He directed at Tifa. The dark haired girl scowled at the man. She bent down next to her mother, still clutching the baby. She shook her mother's shoulder, trying to wake her up. Tears began pouring out of her eyes when her mother did not wake._

"_Rin," the man moved next to the woman, repeating Tifa's actions. The woman did not move, she wasn't breathing either. "Fuck," the man cussed. "Give that brat to me, it has no place here. I will not spend the coin on a child that isn't mine." He held out his hands for the child._

"_This isn't the time to worry about the baby, help mother!" Tifa shouted, clutching the child protectively. Hot tears seared her cheeks. _

"_There's no point, it killed her, it killed my wife! It killed your mother!" _

"_No, you killed her! You wouldn't get a doctor! You just stood outside and waited for the birth to be over. He is just as much your son as he is my brother. Mother would've wanted us to protect him!"_

_The man looked down in shame, her words hitting a sore spot. _

"_He is the son of your wife and the brother of your daughter." _

"_It may continue to live, but I want nothing to do with it." He looked at her with a bitter distaste. _

* * *

Tifa slowly began to regain consciousness. She rolled over on her stomach, burying her face deep with her pillow. She groaned, causing the pillow to vibrate slightly. The sun was just beginning to rise from her now barred window. She had spent years waking up with the sun when she worked in the smithy. Now that she was allowed to sleep in, she found that she could not. A couple of days had passed since she had tried to make her great escape from the balcony. Angeal had personally seen to it that her windows were barred with thick iron poles, although he seemed to be forgetting that she used to work with all sorts of metals for a living. It would only be a matter of time before the young woman would remove the bars.

She had been given a new dress and told repeatedly no to damage it. After several attempts to fall back into slumber, she flung the blankets off her body. The young woman threw her legs over the edge of the bed. She rolled her neck in a circular fashion until she heard a resounding pop. The door to her chambers creaked open. Tifa straightened her back as the screeching of the rusted hinges reached her ears. Looking over her shoulder, she cast the unwelcome early morning intruder an icy glare.

"Good morning Miss Tifa!" Elena said in a sing song voice. She waved her hands as she spoke, an unprecedented smile plastered from ear to ear. Tifa could only imagine what she looked like first thing in the morning, she guessed it was something akin to a dark haired, crimson eyed mangy lion. Although she had always been an early riser, she was far from a morning person. "I'm glad you're up. I have some things I would like to discuss with you before the day begins. Please ready yourself, we have much to do!" Elena turned her back to the Tifa, giving her the privacy she needed to put her dress on. As Tifa dressed herself, Elena continued to chatter animatedly. Tifa wondered how anyone could be this cheerful at such an early hour.

"Every Thursday, Rufus and Denzel go to their weapon training sessions. These are taught by a different general each week. The girls continue their regular studies. Unlike their usual lessons where each child attends with his or her tutor alone, you are to accompany the boys during their weapons training to make sure the session goes smoothly and no one gets hurt. You are not to interfere though, the Generals know what they're doing and they do not let the children get hurt. Once you're ready, we will depart to the kitchen, you're going to meet your official caretakers."

"Omph," The air left Tifa's stomach as she fell on the floor whilst attempting to put on her white stockings. "My caretakers?" She stuck her head up over the edge of her bed.

"Yes, your caretakers. Since you are a young chaste woman, we can't have you running about on your own. Even though you are technically a prisoner..."

"More like slave," Tifa mumbled under her breath, half hoping Elena heard her and half hoping she didn't.

"You are given a certain amount of freedom because of your current job. The children will occasionally ask to go on outings outside the castle walls so you need to be able to come and go freely based on the children's desires. Your caretakers will be taking over my interactions with you for the most part. They will answer any questions you have and they will inform you of important dates among other things you need to know. Now, because you are of age, chaste, and you are what is considered _visually appealing_, you are allowed to marry."

"Wait a minute, you keep saying I'm chaste, how would you know of such a thing?" Tifa began running a brush through her wild, dark locks after her clothes were perfectly in place.

"My dear," Elena turned around to face her, a sweet smile gracing her lips, "The maids live rather uneventful lives. They thrive on gossip. Don't think that anything that happens here is a secret." Tifa frowned; she had probably been the talk of the town when she had tried to escape. She hated when people meddled in her own affairs. "Shall we leave then?" Elena asked as Tifa tied her hair in a loose bun, a couple of tendrils falling out of place to frame her heart shaped face. The dark haired woman nodded and followed the younger, blonde woman out of her room.

They travelled through several long, corridors, each one becoming less exquisite then the last until eventually then were passing through long narrow hallways that held not a single decoration on the wall. The smell of freshly baked bread filled her nostrils as they came up to a wooden door. Tifa's stomach growled. There was loud shouting behind the door that stood between the two women and the kitchen staff. Not even hesitating, Elena pushed open the large wooden door just as a large, black, stone cauldron was sent sailing across the room.

Elena entered, her head held high. Tifa stood cautiously in the doorway, looking around at the massive kitchen. It was designed with the most advanced coal stoves, and was stocked from top to bottom with every type of delicacy Tifa could ever dream of. She found herself salivating over the possibilities of what she might find. Even though she had been there for a few days, she had not entered the kitchen. As she discovered, servants had their own dingy dining hall where she had eaten her meals. She had not been the least surprised when a rat crawled across the table while she was eating the other night. Some of the younger maids had shrieked in horror but Tifa simply lost her appetite, getting the feeling that that rat had done unspeakably awful things to her food before she had sat down at the table.

"I told ya, food doesn't cook any damn faster if the stove is any damn hotter," A deep, booming male voice shouted from one end of the room.

"Shuddup! Get off my back, if you wanna do this by yourself, then fine, I'll go back ta bed." A raspy male voice responded.

"I'd get more work done without ya screwing shit up!" The deep male voice said again.

Before the raspy man could speak again, Elena called their attention. "Gentlemen, is there a problem here?"

"Yaw, this fat sack of crap thinks he's top shit," The raspy man said. Tifa leaned through the doorway, looking around to get a better glimpse of who was in there. There was a shaggy blonde haired man with light blue eyes. The man had a large, crooked nose and appeared to not have shaved in quite some time. He wore a set of goggles on his forehead and a cook's uniform that was most likely white at some point but had seen many years of food stains. Tifa was not sure what purpose the goggles served as he didn't look like he worked around a forge nor drove a carriage.

Tifa's gaze panned to the other side over the kitchen where she spotted the other man. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He was possibly the largest man she had ever seen. He was about the same height as Angeal and Sephiroth, but he looked like someone had stuck two Angeal's together. The man was not fat by any means, but he was certainly the definition of big boned. He was a dark skinned man with dark hair and deep brown eyes. He also appeared not to have shaved in a while. The man wore an almost identical set of clothing to the blonde haired man with the average build, except the darker man's shirt had the sleeves ripped off so his bulging muscular arms could move about freely. He had three scars running down his right cheek.

The dark haired girl immediately felt intimidated. She had not seen either of these men at the servants table before. Elena pressed on, not really caring about their petty squabbling. "I have brought the girl with me." Elena pulled Tifa into the room by her wrist. Tifa gasped in surprise at the unwanted physical contact.

The blonde haired man whistled. Tifa flicked her gaze towards him. He looked like another one of the Shinra clan, but she doubted it since he was working in the castle as a servant. "If I wasn't already married..."He said, a sly smile spreading across his face. Tifa groaned and rolled her eyes. All men were the same.

"Even if you weren't married, I still wouldn't give you the time of day," Tifa said, standing her ground. The larger man chuckled loudly. She jumped a little at the sound.

"A feisty one eh? Good luck finding yourself a husband with that attitude." The blonde man walked up to Tifa. He lit a tobacco filled pipe with a match he had on his person. He took a long drag from his pipe and leaned in close to the younger girl. He wasn't as tall as the other man in this kitchen, but he was still taller than Tifa. The dark haired girl could see every detail of his face. Although he was nowhere near ancient, he was still a bit older than Tifa. Anywhere between mid to late 30's as evidenced by the prominent crows feet, frown lines, nasolabial folds, and deep tear troughs.

"And who says I want a husband?" Tifa glowered at him, folding her arms as she dug in her heels defiantly.

"Young girls find husbands, it's just how it is. Don't be stupid." The man exhaled blowing smoke.

"Yo, she might not even like men," The dark man suggested, shrugging his large shoulders.

"Oh, I never thought about that," Elena placed a hand under her chin, deep in thought. "Are you into women then?" She gave Tifa an odd expression.

"I-," Tifa had turned to look at them; she was at a loss for words. Neither the thought of being with a woman or being with a man appealed to her. She glanced at each of their faces as they waited expectantly for her answer.

"Vultures," A deep velvety voice sounded behind them. Tifa turned towards the door to see a tall, lean man with long ebony hair and deathly pale skin. He was dressed from head to in black clothing. His long tunic had several adornments that looked like leather belts running from one side of his chest to the other. The tunic had a high collar that came up to obscure the lower half of his face. His hair was neatly combed and tied back into a low pony tail, a few stray strands falling about his shoulders. The only colourful thing about him was his bold crimson eyes that peeked out through thick dark lashes. The man strode passed her, making his way toward a tray of pastries.

"I'd rather be a vulture than a crow," The large man said.

"Your argument is invalid. Crows are the more superior of the two." The man said in a perfectly calm, even voice, his face remaining stoic. It was almost as if he was cut completely from stone. His facial features remained unchanged. "Crows hunt their own prey while vultures scavenge on dead carcasses of creatures hunted by something else. And," He plucked up a cinnamon roll off the tray, looking at it thoughtfully for a moment. "Vultures are bald."

"Are you saying I'm bald, boy?" The thick man narrowed his dark eyes at the pale man.

"No, I'm saying-." The pale man was cut off by Elena.

"I have work I need to attend to so let us get this over with." Elena clasped her hands together in front of her. "Tifa this is Barret Wallace and Cid Highwind. They will be your caretakers until you wed. Tifa's eyes scanned their faces. Elena had pointed to the blonde man when she had said Cid and the large man when she had said Barret. Her large vermillion eyes fell upon the man thoughtfully chewing a pastry. He looked familiar. She was sure she had seen him at the feast and perhaps passed him in the hallways a time or two. Elena took her leave with a curt nod.

The man eating the pastry ceased his chewing and visibly stiffened. He straightened his back as his gaze shot directly across from him to the other side of the kitchen. "Speaking of scavengers. Are you going to join us?"

Tifa looked in the directed he was looking. She didn't see anything and thought that the man was mad. She squinted. Out the shadows, or perhaps thin air stepped a small copper haired girl. Tifa had to blink twice, making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"You never cease to notice me, General," Shelke said in a monotone voice. She walked up to a barrel of apples and began fishing inside for one that was just right. The barrel was almost her height, forcing her to stand on her toes as she reached into the wooden structure. She plucked a purple hued apple that appeared almost white when she held it up to the light just right.

"You're quite noisy, it's a wonder you don't wake up the entire castle with you footsteps." The man replied, continuing to eat the pastry, and then licking his fingers clean of all the syrup.

"Not all of us have hearing like a bat, Vincent" The man named Barret spoke at the general. Tifa was confused. All the servants seemed to tread lightly around the generals or nobility. But here was a general who was casually interacting with people that were obviously much lower than him. The large man walked over to a table and began kneading dough in order to make bread.

"Lockhart, do ya understand the class system?" Cid asked, taking a long drag from his pipe. He blew the resulting smoke straight into Tifa's face. Tifa coughed and swatted away the smoke, glowering at the man.

"Never heard of it," Tifa admitted bluntly.

Cid scratched his head and rolled his shoulders back. "Shelke, grab me some apples." The young girl nodded, returning to the barrel. She fished out a bunch of apples and placed them on the table next to another pile of apples that had already been there. Cid walked up to the table and cleared an area. The dark haired girl followed him, watching him move stuff around.

"Alright," He looked at the apples. He grabbed a golden apple and placed it near the top of the table. "This is the King, he's at the top with the most power." Cid placed two more apples of a gold and greenish colouring. "Below him are the nobles. So, the kings children, spouse, relatives and anyone with any kind of noble blood." He took two red apples and two green apples, placing them below the previous ones. "Next are your Generals and dignitaries. So Vincent, Sephiroth, and Angeal, are there and on the other side is the kings advisor Hojo, the doctor Gast, and people like that." Cid placed another row of six red and gold apples. "There are the paid soldiers, guards and knights." He placed a row of eight green and red apples. "These are your farmers, merchants and craftsman." He placed a row of 10 red and green apples. "This is your bottom level. The peasants and the serfs."

"Ya gotta marry within your class. If ya can marry into a higher class, then ya move up a class. Ya rarely marry below your class so moving up a class is hard." Barret said as he punched his mound of dough.

"You were a blacksmith before ya came to Midgar, right?" Cid asked. He picked up a purple tinted apple. He took a knife and began carving an image into the apple with the blade.

"Yeah," Tifa nodded.

"That puts you on the craftsman level," He put down the knife and flipped the apple towards her. The apple had what appeared to be some sort of face. It took Tifa a moment to realize that it was supposed to be her. She scowled at the fact the he had given her a very stern looking face. He placed the apple down in the group that was second to the bottom. "Ya can marry any of the people." He gestured to the people within her said class.

"Did she not say she was uninterested in getting married?" The man named Vincent looked over in their direction.

"Stay outta this Valentine," Barret shouted in a booming voice. Tifa flinched a little in surprise. "Ya ain't her caretaker."

"It appears to me that Vincent Valentine seems to have a soft spot for the girl," Shelke said, calmly biting into the apple, not fully grasping the gravity of her words. "Why doesn't he propose to court her?"

"I don't want a husband and I don't need caretakers. I can handle myself!" Tifa balled her hands at her sides, growing irritated with their interference in her personal affairs. Her outburst had caught them off guard.

"If ya could handle yourself, ya wouldn't be here in the first place, now would ya?" The blonde man continued to smoke his pipe. Angered, Tifa turned on her heel and left the room.

* * *

Tifa had had some time to cool down since that morning in the kitchen. It was now early afternoon. Tifa sat on the couch in the children's wing. Rufus and Scarlet were still at their lessons. Marlene sat on the couch in front of Tifa as the older woman brushed and braided her hair. Denzel was lying on the floor playing with several wooden, spinning tops, attempting to see how man he could make spin at once.

"Why are you sad today, Miss Tifa?" Marlene asked out of the blue.

"Me? I'm not sad," Tifa leant forward so the young girl could see her face; she plastered a fake grin that did not reach her eyes.

"That's not a _real_ smile," Marlene chided the older woman.

"You're right," Tifa sighed. "All done," Tifa let go of the girl's hair, having completed the braid.

"Can I do your hair?" Marlene asked, beaming at Tifa after gazing upon herself in a small hand held mirror.

"Sure, but I don't know if you can do it. I have a lot more hair than you do." Tifa undid her bun, letting her hair hit the couch. She turned away from the girl. Marlene propped herself on her knees with a brush in hand. She began brushing Tifa's hair thoroughly.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Why you're sad, silly!" Marlene giggled.

Tifa sighed; she figured the girl would keep pestering her if she did not answer. "They want me to get married but I do not want to. I can't stand it here. There are so many rules, I have to wear a dress everyday and I was informed this morning that I'm almost the lowest of the low."

"Why don't you want to get married?" Denzel asked, sitting up to join the conversation. "Everyone gets married."

"I'd be doing what someone else wants of me. I want to live on my own accord."

"What would you do if you weren't here?" Marlene asked.

"I'd live in a little cottage near a rocky stream. All by myself. I would grow all my food myself and have all the time in the world."

"Wouldn't you get lonely?" Denzel cocked his head to the side, ignoring his tops completely now.

"Perhaps, I don't really like being alone, but it's all I know."

"Are you afraid of being alone?" The dark haired girl continued to brush Tifa's hair.

"A little, but I'm used to it," Tifa shrugged. The doors to the children's wing swung open. The three of them jumped as the back of the door crashed against the adjoining walls. Scarlet and Rufus entered to room.

"Get your hands out of her hair she probably has fleas or lice! You wouldn't want to catch those now would you?" Scarlet directed at Marlene.

"It's a shame," Tifa said.

"What is?" Scarlet snapped.

"That your promiscuity has no effect on Sephiroth. If I were you I would be wondering if there was something wrong with me." Tifa knew she was mostly likely hitting a sore spot.

To her surprise, Scarlet responded automatically, "If you _were_ me, there would defiantly be _several _things wrong with me. Firstly I would be so hideous that no man would ever propose marriage, secondly I would be filthy and diseased, and thirdly, I wouldn't be able to fit in any of my dresses, being a fat sow and all."

"By that logic, it sounds like I already am you," Tifa raised her eyebrows at the young blonde. Scarlet opened her mouth to respond, but closed it, unable to think of a witty retort. The dark haired woman smiled to herself. Once again, she had bested Scarlet.

Marlene giggled as she watched Scarlet storm off. "You're the best Miss Tifa." She let go of Tifa's hair, having finished the braid. "What do you think?" the girl held up the mirror for Tifa to look at her reflection.

"It's beautiful, thank you Marlene."

"It's training time," Rufus interrupted their conversation.

"Right," Tifa nodded. She patted Marlene on the head, saying she'd be back later after the training session. Marlene nodded happily.

Denzel, Rufus and Tifa left the children's wing. Rufus lead them through several hallways towards the training grounds typically reserved for soldiers but was cleared out every Thursday afternoon for royal training. They entered a large open courtyard within the castle. They were on the bottom floor but several floors above them overlooked the courtyard. Tifa could see the sunny sky since there was no roof. There were vines twisting around all the railings and supports on the stories above them.

The courtyard had a large assortment of weapons hanging on racks. There was everything from basic, wooden training swords to morning stars to massive, almost unwieldy claymores. There were a couple of practice dummies placed on the court, each wearing thick chainmail armour. On one side of the court lay several hay bale targets with arrows sticking out of them.

Tifa's gaze fell upon a man leaning against a pillar that supported the upper story. She frowned and sighed inwardly. "Sephiroth..." She mumbled under her breath. Of all the generals, it had to be him. He was by far the meanest.

"You're late," He barked at the children, stepping away from the pillar. Tifa frowned to herself as she made her way to a wooden bench near the outside of the court. "Pick up your wooden swords and put on your protection." The silver haired general seemed irritated. Denzel and Rufus did as they were told, grabbing the swords off the weapon rack and putting on some light weight leather armour. "Let me see your swings." The boys began practicing their swings.

Tifa grew bored quickly. Although, she picked up a few things from Sephiroth as he instructed the boys such as proper hand positions. After an hour, Tifa nodded off, falling asleep in an upright position.

"_I got'cha!" Tifa shouted out as she grabbed Tius around the middle. They rolled around in the meadow of golden grass just outside their home. His high pitched laughter carried through the air. Tifa tickled the small child until he could barely breathe as he was laughing too hard. His laughter was contagious and Tifa began smiling herself. "Gootchie-gootchie-goo!" the woman made a baby noise as she continued her assault in the form of tickles. She jumped up and began jogging slowly away from the boy._

_He got to his feet and began chasing after her. Tifa let him catch up to her. He caught her leg. The dark haired girl pretended to trip, falling into the thick grass. He was on her in an instant, running his tiny fingers up and down her sides just as she had done to him moments ago. She burst out in laughter, tears coming to her eyes as he hit her sweet spot between her ribs. _

"_Alright! You got me!" Tifa said between pants. Tius fell back into the grass next to Tifa._

"_I want to go there when I get big and strong like you," Tius said, pointing towards the sky where the moon could just barely be seen during the daytime. _

"_You'll have to make sure you eat all your vegetables then. No more being picky, otherwise you won't grow up to be strong." The woman ran her hand through his dark locks. _

"_Do I have to?" He whined, looking up at her. _

"_Yes, if you want to go to the moon."_

"_What's the moon like, mommy?"_

"_I don't know, I've never been. No one has, you're going to be the first!" She smiled encouragingly at the child._

"_Mommy?"_

"_Yes Sweetie?"_

"_How come we aren't like the other families? Why don't I have a daddy?"_

"_Because we're better than all the other families, we don't need a daddy. We get to spend more time together then other families."_

She woke with a start to Denzel shaking her shoulder. "Miss Tifa?" He said.

Tifa jumped up immediately. She looked around to see Denzel giving her a confused expression. "Sorry," she said as she bent down to his height. "What is it?"

"Rufus keeps beating me when we duel, I can't win." He sniffled lightly. Tifa turned to see Rufus and Sephiroth sparring with real swords. She looked back at Denzel, noting that he was now using a real sword and he had a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing too serious.

"Let's watch them for a little bit," Tifa suggested as she sat back down. She patted the bench seat next to her. "If you observe his movements, you can find out his weaknesses." They watched in silence.

Sephiroth was using a smaller sword than he usually used. The silver haired man could easily deflect every attack Rufus tried. Rufus was attempting to appear calm and collected, trying desperately to prove his superiority by not breaking a sweat while attempting to bring Sephiroth down. They were both wielding their swords in their right hands.

"And there it is," She said to Denzel. "His right side is the most dominant, so he keeps it protected the most. He's leaving his left side wide open. His biggest mistake is trying to use just one hand. He's struggling with the sword, it's too heavy for him, and he should be using two hands. All you have to do is go in there, use two hands on your sword and strike him on his left side."

"Thanks!" Denzel said happily as he ran back towards Rufus and Sephiroth. Sephiroth stepped back, letting the younger boys fight each other. Rufus opened with a jab towards his younger brother. Denzel held his ground as Rufus sent a barrage of attacks at him. Denzel waited for his opportune moment when he could duck around Rufus' sword and hit the blonde boys left side. Rufus jumped back in surprise, obviously not expecting Denzel to break through his defenses.

Denzel turned to Tifa to give her a triumphant smile. Tifa nodded back, smiling. Denzel wasn't paying attention to Rufus who was winding up for a more forceful attack. Rufus brought his weapon up behind his head, getting ready to chop down. Tifa felt her pulse begin to race; she knew that Denzel couldn't counter it. Thinking quickly, her body working over time, she ran towards Denzel. He turned to see Rufus winding up. Tifa reached the boy, she snatched the weapon out of his hands. The woman used her right hand to bring the boy into a protective embrace, holding him tightly to her bust. She brought the sword out just in time to block Rufus's blow.

A muffled cry of surprise came from the small child. The woman glanced to see shock across Rufus' face. She panted, having not moved that quickly for in a while.

"Were you not told not to interfere, woman?" Sephiroth said looking down at her with a half lidded gaze. Though his face remained stoic, his voice was full of emotion. At first Tifa had thought he sounded angry and agitated, but that wasn't quite right. It was something else. Something lighter, not joy, but some form of amusement.

"Were you not told not to let the children get hurt?" Tifa spat back at him, righting herself and pushing Denzel behind her protectively. She dropped the sword to the ground.

"Someone is taking their job very seriously," He leaned in towards her; she could smell his musky scent.

"Well, at least _one _of us is," She frowned as she turned away from the silver haired general. The dark haired woman pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, wet it with her tongue, and began dabbing some of Denzel's scrapes.

"Boys, why don't you take a break?"

"I'm fine," Rufus said rather snobbishly.

"I said take a break," Sephiroth glared at the child, his tone was cold and authoritative. The two boys scurried away from Sephiroth, sitting on the bench that Tifa had previously occupied. The young woman straightened. "Pick up the sword; let's see what you can do."

"You want me to fight you?" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Is that so hard to believe or are you just slow?" He taunted her.

Tifa huffed angrily at him, picking up the sword. She gripped the weapon in both her hands. The woman raised it above her head and brought it crashing down, testing the weight and movement of the blade. "Alright, have it your way." She moved her feet apart and bent her knees. She stood on the balls of her feet waiting for him to make the first move.

Sephiroth gave a small smirk. "Alright, here I come." He warned her. He lunged directly for Tifa, thrusting his blade forwards. She reacted quickly, stepping out of the way and blocking his weapon. He drew back and prepared to swipe at her again. Tifa ducked under his blade, she slashed towards his left side. She was quick, but he was quicker, blocking her attack. He shoved her backwards with his sword.

Tifa took a few steps back, righting herself. "One moment." The dark haired woman placed the sword on the ground. She tore the sleeves off her dress with a loud rip and discarded the useless fabric on the floor. She bent over and tore off the bottom half of her dress, changing the length of the dress from floor to mid thigh. Sephiroth raised his eye brows in surprise as she began to stretch her muscles.

"Is this going to take long?" He asked, not that he wasn't enjoying the show.

"Just be quiet." She snapped at him. Tifa picked up the sword again and stood in a defensive stance, feeling much more freedom in her movements.

Sephiroth readied his sword, watching her closely. He decided to swipe at her ankles. Tifa jumped up in the air, up and over his sword. When she was back on the ground, she dove back at him, he deflected her blow with his own weapon. Tifa lost her grip on the blade and it was sent sailing across the room, hitting the floor with a loud clatter. Being disarmed did not faze her. Sephiroth drew back, expecting her to retrieve her weapon, but she did just the opposite.

Tifa ran forward, fists balled, and punched him firmly in the jaw. Sephiroth's head was thrown to the side. Tifa paused, her fists in front of her face. She was panting slightly. He kept his head to the side, his bold emerald eyes meet her vermillion speckled ones. Slowly, he turned back to look her dead on. Tifa's breath hitched in her throat as a sinking feeling filled her stomach. His expression sent shivers down her spine. She jumped back out of his blades reach, fearful of what he was going to do next. She didn't know if he was furious or wickedly amused. Either way, she was scared.

He tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck as he did, getting into an attack stance. Sephiroth ran forward, his boots lightly sounding on the floor. He swung at her again however, she jumped out of the way. He brought the sword down from above her head. Tifa hit his hand, forcing his attack to the side. Her movements were quick and fluid. She would move just out of the way of his blade. After several attacks, Sephiroth adjusted to her speed and was able to predict where she would stand. He slashed at her, Tifa wasn't fast enough and he ended up deeply cutting her left arm.

Tifa looked down, distracted by her wound. Sephiroth booted her violently in the chest. The sickening sound of bones cracking echoed through the court. She cried out in pain as she was sent flying backwards. She collided roughly with the floor bouncing a bit. There were a couple of gasps from above them. When Tifa opened her eyes, she looked up, seeing several people had been watching her spar with the silver haired general. She ignored them and rose to her feet shaking as she did. She took a couple of laboured steps towards Sephiroth.

Tifa dropped to her knees, coughing violently. Blood poured out of her mouth and onto the floor, filling the air with a metallic scent.

"I believe we're done here for today." Sephiroth said, walking up to her.

"Miss Tifa!" Denzel came running to her side.

"Stay back!" Tifa hollered at Denzel with a course voice. The boy paused in his tracks. Slowly she rose to her feet, her breathing was laboured and her expression was weary. Her mouth hung open as she tried to breathe, taking in oxygen becoming a chore. "We're not... done yet..." She wiped the blood from her chin. Tifa grunted as she readied herself. She started running towards him, but felt her legs grow weak. She felt herself sinking to the floor, just before she hit the ground she was caught in thick arms. She looked up to meet a pair of luminous azure eyes.

"Don't you think you've over done it this time, old friend?" Angeal asked, directing his attention to Sephiroth, concern in his voice.

* * *

_**A/n: BAAM! Chapter 3. I'll have already started chapter 4 by the time this is updated but I believe I should update Unholy Encounters first. What did you guys think? I got a request from a friend for fight scenes... and some of you may be like, what does a girl in that time era (Whatever that era is, I can't even tell anymore) know about fighting? All will be revealed later on. It's not like she just picked it up, she had to be trained. But by whom...? **_

_**Some other questions that you may not be wondering but I'm going to subtly suggest them to get people more involved and thinking about my story. Each question has an answer! Why does Tifa not want a husband? Who taught her to fight? Why does the Chinese trampoline dude, Dong Dong, in the Olympics whistle? What was Angeal doing this chapter? Are we ever going to meet Cloud? How come you spent so much time talking about Cid, Barret, and Vincent? Why is Tifa's dad such a dick? How come Vincent is so casual around the kitchen staff? **_

_**I was being subtle with some of the content in this chapter, but if you didn't catch on to it, I'll let you in on some stuff. Tifa and Tius do not have the same father. The apple Shelke eats is a Banora white. Tifa falls into Angeals arms the same way Kadaj falls into Clouds in Advent Children Complete. The conversation between Tifa and Marlene is inspired by On the Way to Smile: Case of Tifa.**_


	4. Sodomy

Chapter 4 – Sodomy

_**A/N: Thanks again to Sassay for beta reading Fate of Men.**_

* * *

"_Keep your back straight, stand up properly and don't lose focus." A dark haired man with an average build instructed a younger girl. She stood in attack stance, eyes forward, knees bent and her own equally dark hair tied sloppily out of her face. Her large vermillion flecked eyes glanced up at the older man. The man walked a full circle around her, his arms behind his back, inspecting her thoroughly. When he once again stood in front of her, he gave the child a small nod of approval. _

"_Again__,__" __h__e said with a tone of authority. _

_Without a moment of hesitation she began to move in a sequence of movements that had been ingrained into her head since she could walk on her own. She paid special attention to keeping her back straight, diverting all her attention to getting the approval of the man before her. She swept her feet to the side and soon found herself standing in the same place she had started. _

"_Wrong," __t__he man shook his head__,__ "__y__our timing is off and you are three feet off of where you started. Again." _

"_Don't you think she's had enough, Tius?" A dark haired woman stood on the porch of a nearby dwelling. "Poor thing, she's all battered and bruised. She's exhausted."_

"_I can continue, father," __t__he girl looked up at the man with determination in her eyes._

"_No Tifa, your mother's right, rest now." The man patted her on her head. "I need to get back to the smithy." With that, he left his daughter and wandered around to the back of the large, wooden building. The woman who had called to them from the porch held out her arms. Tifa ran up to her and they were locked in an embrace. _

_The older woman gasped in surprised and let go of Tifa. "What__'s__ wrong mother?" Her face was stricken with concern._

"_It kicked," She cradled her stomach protectively. The young girl brought her mother to sit on a wooden bench on the far end of the porch._

"_When will you have the baby?" Tifa asked, laying her own hands on her mother's swollen belly._

"_It's hard to say," She said, placing her own hands over her daughter__'__s. "This is the fifth time I've been with child since you were born nine years ago. I've never been able to carry a child properly since you, my darling." She began to tear up a little. "I fear your father is growing impatient with me. He wants a son so badly but I fear I cannot give him that if I lose every child."_

"_Why is he so cold, mother?" Tifa asked, wiping the tears from the older woman's cheeks._

_The woman chuckled lightly. "He isn't cold sweetie. He just has trouble expressing his feelings. A long time ago, before you were born__,__ your father worked as a General. He was assigned a mission, but he did not fulfill that mission and was exiled from the city, never to return. He is a good man. He makes money so we can eat and have shelter. Your father works very hard and you must never speak ill of him." The little girl nodded. "Now, why don't you pick some fresh flowers for the dinner table?" She nodded again and scampered off down the steps of the porch._

_The dark haired girl ran happily through the tall grass until she reached a patch of bright and colourful flowers. She plucked a red tulip from the ground and held it up to the light to make sure it was free of any visual deformities. She blinked and found that her hand__s__ were a little bigger. She blinked again and found that her hands grew even more and she was now farther away from the ground. She blinked a third time to find that her hands were now long and slender, her hair hung down to her waist and she was tall and lanky. Horrified and surprised by this strange turn of events, she looked to her mother for help. _

_When the girl looked back at the house she found that massive orange, yellow and red flames were eating away at the dwelling. A thick pillar of smoke spiralled towards the sky. Bits of ash floated through the air, smudging where it landed on her skin. She tried to run towards the house, but tripped, not used to her long legs yet. From her spot on the ground she reached out and called for her mother. Her voice cracked from the dryness of her throat. There was a scream from inside the house._

* * *

"Hello? Hellooooooo?" A heavenly voice filled Tifa's ears as she began to stir from what felt likes ages of slumber. "It's time to get up." The voice was whimsical and sweet. Its soft melody seemed to warm the depths of Tifa's heart.

"Mother...?" The dark haired woman cracked her eyes open slowly, allowing them to adjust to the light.

"No silly," The voice laughed. The owner of the voice popped into Tifa's line of sight, startling her a little. She had light chestnut hair pulled back into a braid with a pink ribbon, her bangs and a couple of tendrils on the side not included. She wore a long pink dress, adorned with lace, buttons, and a corset underneath that covered everything but her hands and her face. The fabric looked expensive and well kept. Her eyes were a bold luminous green and her skin was pale and milky. She smiled cheerfully at Tifa, flashing a set of bone white teeth. Tifa felt instantly jealous of the girl's beauty and kindness. "Aerith, Aer-ith," She said her name slower the second time; enunciating the syllables and the sound each letter made.

"Miss Tifa!" A youthful voice called out. Tifa turned her head to see Denzel and Marlene at the end of the cot she was lying in. The girl was sitting at the foot of the bed and the boy was standing behind it. The dark haired woman looked around her new, foreign surroundings. She found herself in what appeared to be an infirmary. Cots, like her own, lined the walls on either side of the room in a symmetrical fashion. Each bed had a small night stand next to them. The night stands that were next to occupied bed had a vase of white and yellow flowers in them. Tifa looked to her night stand; there was not a single flower on it. Instead, there was a large, burlap sack.

"We missed you Tifa!" Marlene said, scooting forward on the bed to sit right at Tifa's feet.

Tifa tried to sit up to great her, but found her body wracked with pain and fell back down. "You took a lot of damage. It will be a couple of days before you are able to leave. You were having a nightmare so I woke you up." Aerith said softly, sitting down on a chair next to the bed, a book in her lap. "My father patched you up, he said you'll be alright in a little while."

"Your father?" Tifa asked wearily.

"Doctor Gast Gainsborough," She smiled sweetly.

"What's in the bag?" Tifa's voice was low and raspy, dry from not having anything to drink for a while.

"I'm glad you asked!" She said, her face brimming with excitement. The woman placed her book down on the floor next to her chair. "These all came for you while you were sleeping." Aerith placed the bag on Tifa's lap. "You were out for about a day, word swept across the city of Midgar about you!" Tifa looked at the other woman sceptically. Aerith's gaze shifted from Tifa to the bag, then back to Tifa. Aerith opened the bag since Tifa could not move without straining herself. She fished around inside the sack and pulled out a handful of envelopes, all beige or a dirty white. "Let's see," She hummed to herself. "These are all requests for courtship. There's some good ones in here." She began sifting through the letters. "There's the stable hand, the blacksmith's son, a couple of guards, the scribe, a fish monger, several merchants, farmers and..." She stopped at a certain envelop. She held it up higher to get a better look at it. It was a deep blue with a golden seal on it. "A General?!" Aerith gasped.

Tifa's eyes widened. She had been told that people hardly ever married out of their class. Her stomach churned at the thought of a marriage proposal from a General.

"Denzel, Marlene, can you two go and get Miss Tifa some water?" They nodded and scampered out of the infirmary. Aerith began to sort through the letters, making four piles on Tifa's bed. When the children returned with a bucket of water and cup, Aerith helped Tifa to quench her thirst. Tifa thanked her.

"Okay," Aerith clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "This pile is definite _NOs_, these ones are acceptable, and these ones are the logical choice."

"What's that pile for?" Tifa weakly nodded to the fourth pile.

"Those ones are just fun to look at." Aerith replied, smiling absently to herself. Tifa really looked at the girl; it didn't occur to her before that she was quite young. They were probably around the same age. "Let's focus on this pile," The woman in pink pointed to the _logical choice_ after putting all the other ones back in the bag. She pulled a vase of flowers off the floor beside the cot and placed them on the nightstand, adjusting them just so, matching all the other vases of flowers in the room.

Tifa directed her attention at the remaining pile. The single blue envelop in the stack of off white seemed to taunt her. Half of her so desperately wanted to know which general had sent her the letter and the other half wanted to simply toss it out the window and be rid of it forever. Her finger twitched beside her. All those letters had been for her? The idea seemed preposterous.

Aerith pulled the first two letter off the top, "Reno and Rude, they're two guards. Then there's Nero, the son of the historian and his brother Weiss. There's Reeve the architect."

"Just get to the blue one!" Tifa blurted out, curiosity winning her over.

Aerith froze, surprised by her outburst. Then she gave a soft laugh to show she wasn't offended. She picked up the envelope and ran her delicate fingers across it. Tifa could tell that the woman before her had never known a hard day's work. She removed the golden seal and opened the envelope. She pulled out a piece of white parchment and began to read. "To the caretakers of Tifa Lockhart, I humbly wish to request courtship starting immediately after her recovery." Tifa watched as Aerith's eyes scanned over the letter. "Sincerely, General Cloud Strife."

Tifa's mind had come to a grinding halt. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it after not a sound came out. She repeated this action. An odd feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Her fingers curled into balls around the blanket of her cot.

"Isn't that exciting? General Strife is a sweet heart; and not to mention, quite the looker!" Aerith smiled brilliantly. When she noticed Tifa's reaction, her face dropped instantly. "What's wrong? Isn't this wonderful news? You've caught the eye of a very respectable man."

Tifa scowled, now feeling slightly insulted. Of all generals, she had expected to the letter to come from Angeal and not some random man she'd never met, one of the only two Generals she had never been in close proximity to. _Immediately after her recovery, _Aerith's words echoed in her head. He couldn't be bothered to visit her during her healing process? Not that she wanted him to. She would much prefer it if everyone stayed away from her.

"Miss Tifa?" Denzel asked, walking up to the side of her bed.

"I'm fine," She forced a fake smile on her face.

The clearing of a throat called their attention. Standing a little ways away from them stood a tall man with dark hair. "Ah General Hewley," Aerith bowed. "How may I help you?"

"I am here to visit Miss Lockhart." He said, walking up to her cot. The chestnut haired woman seemed to give Angeal a knowing glance.

"Denzel, Marlene, why don't we get something to eat?" Aerith suggested, taking a child's hand within her own. The trio left the infirmary.

"Thank you," Angeal nodded after her, he sat down in the chair she had previously occupied.

"What can I do for you, _General," _Even though she still felt incredibly weak, she was able to add some venom to her words. She couldn't explain this feeling she had within her. She was battling an internal conflict. She wanted nothing to do with courting or marriage and yet she felt oddly upset and self conscious because Angeal had not sent her a letter.

"I came to check on the state of your recovery."

"I see," She narrowed her eyes at him; trying to figure out if he had some sort of ulterior motive for visiting her. "Well in that case, I'm going to live but it will take a little while to heal."

"That is good news." Angeal said evenly, not conveying any hidden thoughts. His jaw seemed to be locked and his eye brows were more furrowed than usual. He seemed on edge. Tifa wondered if he was upset. "Do you know when you will be discharged?"

"No, but I do know that I need to rest for a couple of days."

Angeal absently nodded. His bright azure gaze fell upon the pile of letters on her bed. "I see Miss Gainsborough has gone through your mail already."

"Yes," Tifa paused, her gaze relaxing. "Something's different about you."

"Hm?" He locked eyes with her. His had a haunting stare, as if all the life had been drained from him, as if he had done a horrible thing that threatened to destroy his soul.

"You seem tense, like you're forcing yourself to be here."

"I had some unpleasant things to take care of the past couple of days."

"Like...?"

Angeal simply shook his head. "I came here to check on you, and now that I have, I will take my leave." He rose from his seat and left without another word. Tifa lay there, stunned by his sudden change in demeanour. She didn't know him well enough to be able to tell if this was his normal personality or if what had happened between them on the balcony was what he was really like. She huffed, frustrated. The dark haired woman attempted to roll over, but gave up when her body was wracked with pain.

* * *

Several hours passed. Tifa had faded in and out of sleep the rest of the afternoon. Aerith had returned a couple of times to check on her and give her some medicine. Angeal had not returned at all; to Tifa's dismay. When she was awake, she found herself counting the petals on the flowers next to her cot. When she would finish, she would recount them, just to make sure her number was accurate. Eventually she would grow tired and fall asleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night, the room was completely dark. She tried to sit up and found that with much effort, she was able to do so. She pushed the covers off her body and boldly swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her body was dressed in some sort of night gown. She found that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. Pushing those thoughts aside, she pressed her bare feet to the cold, stone floor. The dark haired woman mustered up all her strength in order to stand up. For a moment, she was on her own two feet. Tifa quickly lost her balance and fell to the side. She reached out for something to hold onto.

Tifa managed to grab hold of the nightstand after accidently knocking over the vase of flowers. It hit the floor and shattered, water and flowers spilling all over the floor. She froze, waiting for someone to come and find the cause of the ruckus. Nobody seemed to hear. Gaining a bit of courage, Tifa let go of the nightstand and felt around for the wall. A sharp pain shot through her chest. She held her hand over the epicentre of agony. After a moment of rest, she pushed onwards, moving her hands across the wall until she reached the door.

She exited the room and assumed she was in a corridor. It was dark and windowless. Tifa figured that if she followed it, eventually she would find an exit, hopefully one to the castle and then she could escape. She kept to the wall, hobbling along. Each arduous step caused her upper lip to quiver slightly as she grimaced in pain.

"Isn't it a little late for sightseeing?" A deep, velvety voice filled her ears. Tifa let out a sharp gasp as she turned towards the direction of the voice. She heard a match being lit. The corridor became illuminated. She found herself staring at a dark haired man with a deathly pallor and bold crimson eyes. She was startled for a moment before she recognized him as General Vincent Valentine. He was holding a wax candle in a holder.

"And what about you?! Skulking around in the dark! You're not going to drink my blood, are you?" She subtly changed the subject so he wouldn't think about _why_ she was out of bed.

"Drink your blood..?" He gave her a confused expression before disregarding her accusation. "My candle blew out just before I heard you attempting to flee this place." His voice was hollow, as if the life had been sucked out of him long ago.

Tifa shifted nervously. "So how do we proceed?"

"I could report your escape after returning you to your bed and having guards outside your door at all times, but..." He thought for a moment. "I was on my way to the library, and dealing with you would be counterproductive. Why not accompany me?" He held up the candle, gesturing towards the dark hallway before them. He stared down at her, his exotic eyes boring into her soul. Her mind grew blank, feeling intimidated by his presence and close proximity. He waited expectantly for her answer.

Tifa gave a cautious nod. She looked forward, towards her destination. She took a step away from the wall, her pride would not allow her to let him see her in such a weak state. The moment her hand left the wall, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her body. She gritted her teeth and stifled a groan of agony. She took a step forward. The dark haired woman began to lose her balance. A steady hand under her elbow stopped her from falling forward.

"Perhaps you would grant me the honour of helping you?" Vincent said, devoid of emotion.

Tifa looked away from his intense gaze, shaking her head. "I can do it on my own." She jerked back out of his grasp. Her sudden movement sent her stumbling backwards. Her backside hit the wall.

Vincent knelt down in front of her, his back to her. "Get on," he commanded. He didn't sound angry or irritated. She swallowed her pride and straightened her night gown. Tifa put her arms around his neck and her legs on either side of his back. He placed his free hand underneath her. The slender man straightened. He held the candle out and strode forward. The crisp and clean scent of peppermint leaves filled her nostrils.

After a lengthy walk, they reached what he had called a library. To be honest, Tifa hadn't the slightest idea what a library was. He pushed open a large door and the pair found themselves standing in a massive room with rows upon rows of old tomes and books. It was difficult to see in the dark, but she felt as if the room went on and on. Vincent let her fall gently onto a musty couch. He took his hand and lit several other candles in the room. The library was immediately illuminated with soft amber light.

Tifa watched as the mysterious man walked over to one of the book shelves and held up his candle. His slender fingers traced over the spines of a few aged novels until he found the one he wanted, plucking it from its home. His long legs brought him to an armchair adjacent to the couch.

"You may read what you like," He said solemnly, making himself comfortable in the armchair. He flipped to the first page of the book and began reading. Tifa paused. Her eyes scanned the books on a small table in front of the couch. She frowned. The young woman fidgeted in her seat. She looked around the room. Tifa opened her mouth a couple of time to say something, but she felt embarrassed by what she was going to say. "Something wrong?" Vincent didn't look up from his book.

"I..." She stumbled over the words. "I can't read."

"Neither can I," Vincent looked up at her.

"Really?" Tifa felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She was glad she wasn't the only one.

"No, I can read." He replied curtly. Tifa scowled at him for getting her hopes up. After a moment he added, "It was a joke." She squinted at him, not believing that someone could have such a dry sense of humour. "I suppose you would rather do something else? Talk perhaps?"

She turned away from him. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Very well," he returned to his book. Tifa thought he was purposely turning the pages as loud as he possibly could.

She grew bored and irritated quite quickly. "I hate it here," She finally broke the silence after about 20 or so minutes of sitting quietly.

"Why?" He asked, without looking up. "Do you eat every night? Do you have a warm place to lay your head? A roof over your head? Are your clothes filled with holes?"

Tifa frowned. She drew her knees up towards her chest and hugged them, mindful of the bottom of her nightgown; she didn't want to reveal herself. "I'm caged here. I can't leave."

"I see." He nodded.

"_You see? _Is that _all _you're going to say?"

He snapped his book closed, giving her his undivided attention. "What would you prefer me to say? Of course you have it much worse than any other person within these walls. Your pain is so much greater than theirs. Poor You." His voice was very different now. Tifa saw that there was something akin to pain behind his eyes. The first emotion she had seen from him. His words were harsh and dripping with sarcasm. She was taken aback. "You are a selfish child." He added. "Do you not think about what comes out of your mouth before you speak?"

Tifa became defensive. "You don't know anything about me! How dare you make those accusations! I took everything life threw at me and never complained! But now, I have a chance to live my own life, not for someone else. I'm not going to just roll over at let fate walk all over me again, like it has so many times in the past."

Then, the strangest sound rang through her ears. It was so obscure and odd that she couldn't describe it. It was like someone was opening and closing wooden shutters repeatedly. A deep chuckle emerged from Vincent's throat. He sounded unsure of the sound himself, as if he had never laughed before. "You remind of Sephiroth. He said the same thing to his father before becoming a soldier instead of scholar."

"I am nothing like that horrible monster," Her voice was low, insulted by his words.

"He speaks highly of you," Vincent added as he studied the younger girls face carefully, as if trying to see any sort of changes in her demeanour.

"Brags to all his friends about how he fought a girl?" Tifa asked, scowling.

"Not, quite..." His voice trailed off. "Mostly about your tenacity." Vincent made an odd face. His expression reminded her of Angeal's grim expression earlier that day when he had paid her a visit. Tifa decided to change the subject, feeling uncomfortable talking about their current subject. "Are all the Generals fairly close?"

"Some are," He wasn't deterred by the rapid change of subject, he seemed almost thankful for it. As if there was something he was trying hard not to bring up. "Angeal and Genesis grew up together, then they trained with Sephiroth, the three became pretty close. Angeal mentored Zack and Sephiroth mentored Cloud. Zack and Cloud are the two youngest Generals and close friends."

Cloud. Cloud Strife. Tifa remembered his name. She wondered if Sephiroth had influenced his personality. "And what about you?"

"I am an outside observer. I do not get close to people. But I get the feeling, that that isn't the question you really want to ask."

His senses were correct. Tifa picked at a loose thread in her dress as she tried to convert her thoughts into a coherent question. "Angeal seemed quite upset earlier today, but he wouldn't tell me why. I mean, it is his business and all, but I'm worried." The last part surprised Tifa. Since when did she start caring what happened to other people, other than her deceased family?

"Ah, there it is. Angeal most likely went to visit his former mentor."

"I don't see how that could be so terribly unpleasant."

Vincent held up his hand to silence her as he continued. "I'll start from the top. Way back when, the Generals were growing old and the new wave of younger and stronger Generals was starting to come in. The king assigned each of the old Generals at least one apprentice. Genesis was mentored by a man named Heidegger. I was mentored by a man named Veld. Angeal and Sephiroth were both mentored by a man named Hollander. Hollander was a renowned General, a skilled tactician although his combat skills were severely lacking. Once he became a General, the power went to his head. He began to use his new found glory to indulge in his... shall we say, dark fantasies. The man was not right in the head. He had thing for... small children. He mostly stuck to sodomizing young male recruits."

Tifa gasped. "That's horrible."

"You've already meet a few of his victims. There were many. That sort of thing never leaves you," His voice trailed off, lost in thought. After a moment, he snapped out of his trance. "Sephiroth was the one to report him. Angeal had no idea about Hollander until he was imprisoned. The whole thing was kept under wraps and people were told that he was trading information to the enemy."

"Why was it kept a secret?"

"Several reasons, but none I can discuss. It is not my place to tell you. But I suggest you don't ask."

"Fine, but why does Angeal have to visit him?"

"There are a couple of reasons. Again, I cannot discuss the majority of them with you. But I can tell you that one of the reasons that he goes is because he is reminded that _absolute power corrupts absolutely_, as he put it. He does not wish to become consumed with power, like his mentor. However, I have complete confidence that he will not commit such heinous acts."

"That is a relief," Tifa fiddled with the hem of her night gown. "What about you, how did you become a General."

"Many years of training," He seemed reluctant to speak. Tifa noticed that he didn't really say much when it came to speaking of himself.

"Most people cower in fear when in the presence of a General, why do they not react that way for you?" She mentally scolded herself for prying when she of all people hated it.

"I wasn't always a General," he stared off into the distance. "In fact, many orphans are sent to work in the castle."

"_Six whole years and he hasn't said a single word." Cid stirred a large pot of stew as he whispered to the larger man next to him. Simultaneously, their eyes wandered towards a young boy with shaggy dark hair. The boy was frail and slender. His crimson eyes were sunken in with dark circles underneath them. The boy chopped pieces of carrots quietly, pretending not to hear the men who were at most, a decade older than him. _

"_I lost my folks when I was a kid, but that didn't stop me from talkin'," Barret replied in a hushed voice._

"_If only it 'ad," The blonde man snickered at his companion. Barret punched the man's arm. Cid laughed it off, rubbing the spot that was ringing in pain._

"_Hey, kid," Barret called out to the dark haired boy in a booming voice. The boy jumped a little. He looked up at the two men. His eyes had a lifeless gaze to them. "Talk to us."_

_The boy shook his head and went back to chopping. The doors to the kitchen opened, a prosperous man with dark hair and an unkempt beard walked in. The boy began to shake. He dropped his hands to the side, looking down at his dirty boots. He clutched the knife tightly in his right hand. The man strode into the room with few armoured men following him. _

"_General Hollander, what brings ya here this fine evenin'?" Cid asked, venom dripping from his voice. _

"_Always a pleasure to see you, Highwind." The man replied. Barret glared daggers at the General. "I have brought a new servant." The plump man snapped his fingers. A young child, around the age of four was escorted in by one of the guards that had arrived with the General. She had bright blue eyes and a head full of copper hair. _

"_Ain't that a little above your pay grade?" Cid asked suspiciously._

"_You ask too many questions," Hollander directed his attention to the still quivering boy clutching the knife. "Ah, Vincent... I haven't seen you in a couple of days. Still quiet as ever I see." The man drew closer to the boy, about to put a hand on his head. _

"_Wouldn't do that if I were you, General," Barret finally spoke up. "Kid's got a knife."_

_Hollander surveyed the child, backing off. "Anyways, that's all I came here for. I will take my leave." He left with a wave and one last glance at the boy. The small girl was left in the kitchen with them._

"_What a sick fuck," Cid said when he was sure the general was out of ear shot. "I suppose the kid's getting too old for his liking so he's moving on?" _

"_Doesn't he have a kid around Vincent's age?"_

"_Yea, but his wife split and took the kid, or so I hear." _

_The small girl wandered further into the kitchen. She stopped next to the older boy. The dark haired boy looked down at the girl when she tugged on the leg of his trousers. "Hey mister," She said in a high pitched voice that sounded more like a squeak than someone speaking. "What's your name?"_

_The boy crouched down to match her height. "Vincent Valentine," his voice was hollow and devoid of emotion. _

"_I'm Shelke Rui!" She cheered, just happy to hear her own name. "How old are you? I'm dis many!" She held three fingers up on her hand. _

"_I am ten," He mimicked her actions by holding up all ten of his fingers. _

"General? General?"

"Hm?" Vincent snapped out of his reverie, directing his attention back to his female companion. Tifa shifted impatiently on the couch, awaiting his answer. "Can you repeat the question?"

"I asked if you were going to tell me why you became a General."

"To protect someone," He replied coolly.

"Who, if I might ask?"

"My younger sister."

"Does she live in the castle? Who is she?" The idea of a female version of Vincent seemed to excite her. She imagined what Miss Valentine looked like.

"Shelke Rui."

"Shelke?" Tifa frowned, an image of the copper haired girl coming to mind. "You two aren't related. You look nothing alike and have two different surnames."

"Can we not be siblings if we are not related by blood?" Before Tifa could respond the doors to the library creaked open. In walked a man clad in leather with shining silver pauldrons on his shoulders. His long hair caught the light of the candles, giving its usual silver tone a warm auburn hue.

The man stopped when he noticed that the room was occupied. His emerald eyes scanned the emotionless face of Vincent Valentine and the disgusted face of Tifa Lockhart. "Is it proper for a man to entertain an unmarried woman in private?"

"Is it proper to interrupt?" Tifa replied before Vincent could say anything.

"I take it you're feeling better," Sephiroth came to stand in the middle of the room. "I am left handed; I only use my right hand when duelling with the princes."

"It wasn't your hand that was my undoing, it was your foot." Tifa rose from her seat on the couch, stifling a groan of pain as she did. "I think a rematch should be arranged."

"That is out of the question, you will get hurt again. I cannot have you crying over my training grounds."

"I see the all brawn and no brains stereotype holds true. Is your tiny brain incapable of remembering things properly? I wasn't crying, although," Tifa pretended to think for a moment. "I do think, Mr Crescent, that I may have seen a tear when I hit you." She taunted him. Vincent visually receded into his chair.

"Obviously you thought wrong," He looked her up and down, taking in her state of undress. "Perhaps you're the one with the tiny brain; you couldn't even remember to dress yourself when you woke up."

"For your information, all my clothes are back at my home. I do not wish to wear the dresses they give me here." Tifa took a few steps forward, getting into his face, pushing all her discomfort to the side.

"So you run around in your undergarments?"

"It's sleepwear!"

"Have you seen that loggerheaded scut? She isn't in her bed," Angeal walked into the library. He stopped in his tracks, locking eyes with Tifa._ Loggerheaded scut? _She repeated his words in her head, knowing that he was indeed talking about her. She balled her fists at her side, wondering if he spoke poorly of her when she wasn't around. Summoning all her strength, she made for the door. Pain ripped through her torso as she moved too quickly. She wanted to cry out in, but giving them the satisfaction of seeing her in agony was not in her character. She was almost at the door when Angeal stepped into her path.

"Get out of my way," She said in a low voice with words that were laced with malice. He simply stared down at her, not budging. Tifa grunted and moved around him, knowing full well that she was not strong enough in her current state to move him. She held a brave face as she walked out.

The dark haired woman took several paces down the hall so she was out of ear shot when she dropped to her knees. Tifa wrapped her arms around her torso hoping to stop the pain that radiated in her body with each breath. Had she had been any other girl, she would've cried. There were only three occasions she could recall when she had actually cried. One of them was Tius' birth and one of them was his death. Something as minor as excruciating physical pain was not going to be the fourth time for her.

Though the hallway was as desolate as the dark side of the moon, she felt as if a shadow had landed upon her. Someone was standing right behind her. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat as she waited for them to speak.

"Are you alright?" Came a deep male voice that she instantly recognized. Angeal remained still as he awaited her response.

"As well as a _loggerheaded scut_ can be," She spat back over her shoulder. "Go away." He stooped down to her level. Somehow he managed to get his arm under her knees. "Don't touch me." When he straightened up, he held her in his arms close to his chest. The dark haired general began walking through the hallways in the dark, seeming to know exactly where he had to go. Her orders went unheard. She found herself growing tired. The warmth coming off his body was soothingly lulling her back towards a deep slumber.

"Where are you taking me...?" She mumbled, fighting to stay awake. She had overexerted herself in that short amount of time.

"Back to bed," He replied with a calm and even tone.

Trust was not something she was overly familiar with. Her father had never been a trusting man, that and years of social isolation had turned her into a very guarded person. Trust was not something that was easily given. She doubted if she had ever given it to anyone. Her mother wasn't always reliable. Growing up, she had to assume the role of an adult since her mother was often bedridden with pregnancy related issues and her father was busy with work.

Tifa had an odd feeling growing inside of her. As his strong, muscular arms held her tightly and his hot breath danced across the top of her head, she felt something akin to trust. It wasn't _quite _trust, she still did not know him all that well. Security and safety were the words she was searching for. Another wave of tiredness washed over her. Her vermillion specked eyes fluttered and she found herself resting her head against his chest. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him say something about seeing her when she wakes.

* * *

_**A/N: *Whistles* another chapter. I know that Gast is not Gast Gainsborough, but he needed a surname and it had to be the same as Aerith's. Some of you may be wondering when Tifa is going to have time to sulk about Tius' death, don't worry! I have not forgotten the pain of loss. She's just distracted by what seems to be a whole new world with different customs and she's trying to escape. Much of her mental capacity is focused on that and she hasn't really had the time to let herself really go, also partly because she's not letting herself appear weak by crying.**_

_**On a side note, but not completely unrelated topic. What do you guys think thus far? I put a little bit of fluff here and there... hopefully to keep people interested and hopeful about the romance in the story. The flashbacks, are there to many of them? Not enough? Are they good? This was quite the long chapter, longest I've ever written in fact. I hope the wait for the update was worth it. Was going to cut it in half but I decided not to.**_

_**Some questions to keep you guys thinking:**_

_**Was Tifa's mother able to bring the child to term? Was the fire just a nightmare? Will Cloud ever get to officially meet Tifa? Why is Vincent so talkative to Tifa? What is up with Sephiroth? What kind of history do Angeal, Sephiroth and Hollander have?**_

_**Also, just to clarify something, just to make sure everyone got it. In the flashback, Tifa's mother is pregnant and Tifa is only 9. Tius was born when she was 14 ergo, the child is not Tius from chapter 1.**_


	5. Demeritorious

Chapter 5 – Demeritorious

_**A/N: Thanks to Sassay for beta reading! **_

* * *

Angeal stared at the children sitting at the end of the bed. Their large innocent eyes seemingly boring into his soul. It was as if they had some hidden information that they were keeping all to themselves. Information that if divulged, could perhaps change everything. He knew he was just uncomfortable around children, and his speculations were most likely to be false. Marlene blinked as Denzel fidgeted.

"What are you doing here General?" Marlene asked in a light voice.

"I could ask the same of you, little one," Angeal replied, leaning forward in his seat next to the hospital cot.

"Miss Tifa is hurt, we're making her feel better," Marlene smiled, flashing her tiny white teeth.

"And Scarlet's impossible to live with at the moment," Denzel added. Angeal nodded his head, now understanding. "Ever since Miss Tifa and General Sephiroth fought, she's been very upset. Probably because that's more attention he's paid to Miss Tifa than he has ever paid to Scarlet."

"I think Sephiroth fancies Miss Tifa," the brown eyed little girl said matter of factly.

"If he liked her, then why would he hurt her?" Denzel folded his arms across his small chest as he poked holes in her reasoning.

"Love hurts Denzel!" Marlene scolded. Angeal looked at the two children who possessed such wisdom beyond their years. They could easily outsmart Scarlet or Rufus any day, but that wasn't giving them enough credit. The young girl directed her attention back to Angeal. "How come you didn't save her?"

"What do you mean?" The dark haired man furrowed his brows.

"You didn't come to her aid in her time of need; you let Sephiroth have_ his way _with her." Marlene pouted. Angeal doubted she knew what that meant and had a feeling Scarlet had used the term before. Although she was smart for a child, that didn't change the fact the she was still naive and innocent.

Angeal chuckled lightly. "Miss Tifa can hold her own. She is a very strong woman, however Sephiroth is stronger. And sometimes he gets carried away and forgets his true strength. I was watching the two of them spar but, I had not counted on Sephiroth being that rough with her."

"How come General Cloudy sent Miss Tifa a letter but you didn't? You brought her to Midgar didn't you? By that logic you would know her better and know what a wonderful person she is." Marlene changed the subject.

"Cloud sent her a letter?" Angeal frowned and looked over at the face of the sleeping woman in the bed. She looked so peaceful for once. It was a shame she would have to wake up and try to escape again. A part of him enjoyed thwarting her attempts to flee the castle while the other part wished she'd stay put and settle down.

"Yeah, but Miss Tifa seemed kind of upset when she found out it was Cloud that sent her the letter," Denzel added. "It seemed like she really wanted it to be someone else."

"Even though she said she didn't want anything to do with marriage, _I _still think she secretly wants to get married." The brown eyed girl said.

"What do you mean? She said she hated it and the idea was stupid; that she wanted to live alone in a cottage by the river in a forest."

"That doesn't mean she's telling us how she really feels!"

"What else has she told you?" Angeal interrupted them, surprised when he noticed himself leaning forward in his seat, hanging on their every word.

The two children thought hard for a moment before Denzel spoke, "Not much actually. Miss Tifa likes to guard herself and doesn't like to talk about her feelings but when she knows something's wrong, she has no problem stating it. We have to ask her direct questions in order to get direct answers."

"She's always smiling with us, but the smile never meets her eyes so we know it's fake." Marlene paused for a moment. "She's been hurt badly, I think. Someone has done something awful to her."

"Miss Tifa likes to tell stories, and she's very good at them. They're always about the same boy though."

"She calls them the Adventures of Tius."

Angeal said the name in his head. "Does she get upset when talking about Tius?"

"Sometimes," Denzel shrugged. "She sort of goes somewhere else for a moment and then comes back with one of her forced smiles."

"Do you know why she does that? Every time we ask she starts talking about something else."

"Miss Tifa lost someone very dear to her; she probably doesn't want to show people her pain." Angeal admitted.

"Who was this Tius?" Denzel asked, excited by the idea that the person in his nanny's stories actually lived.

"He was a boy she was raising by herself, I do believe." Angeal was still unsure of the exact relation between her and the child.

"Losing him must've been awful, but I don't think that's why she hurts. It might have a bit to do with it, but there's more."

"That's very profound, how old are you again?" Angeal cast the small child a sceptical look.

"I'm six," Marlene giggled.

"You are quite the clever girl, princess." The dark haired man nodded. Marlene giggled again and blushed at the compliment.

"Thank you, you're quite smart yourself. For a General, of course."

Angeal chuckled lightly. Tifa let out a groan as she began to come to. Her body was still sore, the trip to the library in the middle of the night had not helped the healing process. She rolled on her side, her vermillion speckled eyes opening slowly, landing upon Angeal. Startled, she bolted upwards, clutching the bed sheets close to her bosom.

"Miss Tifa!" Marlene cheered happily.

Tifa blushed lightly when she thought about her reaction to seeing Angeal. The dark haired woman turned to look at the two children, releasing the bed sheets with a sigh. "Good... Morning?" She guessed at the time of day after a quick glance out the window on the far wall.

Marlene hopped off the bed and ran around to stand next to Tifa. The small girl leant in and whispered in the older woman's ear, "I think the General spent the night."

"What?" Tifa drew back in surprise. "Are you sure?" Her eyes flicked between the child and the General as the child nodded vigorously.

"What is it?" Angeal raised his eyebrows as he adjusted himself uncomfortably in his seat.

"Nothing!" Marlene chirped. "We have to go to our lessons now, bye!" Marlene all but yanked Denzel off the bed as they sped out of the infirmary and down the hallway. The sound their tiny feet made when they hit the stone tiles reverberated off the walls.

"Is there something you needed, _General,_" Tifa frowned, remembering that he had called her a rather insulting name the previous night.

"Nothing in particular."

"You're in a much better mood," Tifa scoffed as she folded her arms tightly across her chest.

"Perhaps..." He trailed off. The azure eyed man looked off into the distance as he stroked the small tuft of hair on his chin. "There is something I wanted to speak to you about but I think now is not the appropriate time."

"What? You can't just say you have something to tell me and then _not _tell me. You've piqued my curiosity." She frowned.

"Would you care to go for a walk?"

* * *

About half an hour later Tifa found herself in the most magnificent garden she had ever been in. Behind the castle was a large open area with just about every kind of flower in existence. The area was shrouded by large trees ranging from one to four stories in height. In the middle of the garden was a large pond with lilies covering the majority of the surface. There was a massive willow tree next to the pond and a stone bench beneath it.

Her injury causing her to feel more tired than usual, Tifa moved for the bench. Getting to the secret garden had been a hassle since she had refused any sort of help from Angeal. The young woman sat on one end of the bench while Angeal sat on the other. The two were careful to position themselves so that they were a healthy distance apart. She still wore the nightgown since she could not find anything else.

"This place is beautiful," Tifa breathed as she took in the vibrant colours of plants and the plethora of smells filling her nostrils.

"It's Miss Gainsborough's secret garden."

"Are we allowed to be here?"

"Not really," Angeal shrugged casually. "As long as you don't step on any of the flowers, she won't notice." A moment of silence passed over them, both content to sit and listen to the wind rustling in the trees. Tifa closed her eyes and exhaled slowly through her nose, her body relaxing as she did so. "Do you like flowers?" asked Angeal.

"They're okay," Tifa began to finger comb her hair, attempting to untangle the unruly mess it had now become.

"Do you really hate it here?" Angeal looked out over the pond. A small green frog hopped off a lily pad causing small ripples in the otherwise still water. It made a quiet plopping sound as it did. A pair of white doves flew out from a nearby tree. Tifa caught movement in the corner of her eye; a humming bird was beating its wings a hundred times per second as it sucked the nectar out of flowers. Peaceful was the word that came to her mind. She could easily see herself wasting many days just enjoying the serene scenery.

"I hate the feeling I get here," She answered honestly. A cool breeze blew across the pair. The dark haired woman shivered as goose bumps covered her sun kissed skin.

"And what feeling would that be?" Angeal stretched out his ^ legs in front of him.

"That I'm trapped. I don't belong in this world." Tifa admitted. Angeal threw her a questioning look. Tifa elaborated on her thoughts. "There's so many nice things. The clothing people wear is expensive and the items they keep... you and everyone else here just get things handed to you. If you're hungry, you simply have to say so and you receive food. If your clothes are ruined, you just get new ones."

"Are you saying we're spoiled?"

"Have you ever gone a day without eating?"

Their eyes met. Angeal spoke slowly so he was sure she would know that he was serious. "Yes, I have. Not everything was like it is now." Tifa shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

"What did you want to tell me?" She changed the subject. Before Angeal could answer, they heard several loud voices from inside the castle, heading towards them.

"Don't do this! It's not what it looks like," came a female voice.

"I'm sure it's exactly what it looks like," an angry male voice responded.

"They're just friends! Nothing more." A second female voice spoke.

"A man and a woman cannot be friends." The male responded.

"You're going to ruin everything if you go out there," a second male voice said.

"They're not doing anything, the poor girl can barely walk!" The first female pleaded with the man.

The angry male hissed at the other woman. "She doesn't _need_ to be able to walk." A group of people emerged from the castle and stood in the garden a little ways away from Tifa and Angeal.

"Please Cloud, no," Aerith was clutching the arm of a young, somewhat short blue eyed, blonde haired man as she desperately tried to dissuade him. Tifa deduced that first female had been Aerith so that meant that Elena, who stood on the other side of the blonde man, was the second female. Judging by the angered look on the blonde man's face, it was easy to figure out that he had been the first male. The second male was a tall man with black hair and large blue eyes. His resemblance to Angeal was uncanny. Tifa looked over at Angeal, noticing that the only difference between Angeal and this new man was perhaps a few years, a few extra muscles, and facial hair on Angeal's part. Angeal had a masculine ruggedness to him where as the other man looked like he was just coming out of his boy years and filling into the man that he would be.

"What in blue blazes is going on here?!" The blonde man continued to walk into the garden. Angeal rose to his feet. Tifa remained seated as she studied the disgruntled man. He was very young, or perhaps simply young looking than actually young when it came to his age. His face had no wrinkles; his skin was smooth and almost flawless save for the dark circles under his eyes. He had a boyish charm to him, not quite a boy but not quite a man either. His jaw was shut tight and Tifa could clearly see his fists on either side of him clenching and unclenching ever so slightly.

"What can I do for your Strife?" Angeal asked, his words were calm and even as he tried to rectify the situation.

"What do you think this is Angeal? I'm supposed to be courting her, what is the purpose of that if she's been sleeping around with other men?"

"You have been ill informed," Angeal tried to calm the man down.

"You need to learn not to touch things that don't belong to you General." The man named Cloud shot back, angrier than before. _Belong to him_? Tifa could've sworn her eye twitched slightly at his words. She clenched her own fists on the bench.

"Cloud, just stop. You're taking this too far." The other dark haired man spoke up.

"Stay out of this Zack," He replied.

"I have not touched her nor have I deflowered her, the only thing I am guilty of is not having an escort with me. You need to cool your head and recompose yourself Strife."

"Do not tell me what to do; I will not stand to have other men alone with the woman I am to court." Cloud snapped. "I know you're lying because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Aerith gasped and covered her mouth when he said this. The man named Zack's mouth fell open; Elena gave them a confused look.

"You didn't..." Zack murmured.

"At least I _earned _my right to become a General," Angeal said in a low voice, his expression was sombre. Tifa felt a chill run up her spine as the atmosphere suddenly changed. Cloud wound up and delivered a forceful punch right to Angeal's face, hitting him square in the mouth. The dark haired man's lip split open and he spat out a small amount of blood.

Cloud tried to get another hit on Angeal but Zack was quick to restrain his arms. "Stop it; you're making a fool out of yourself." Zack hissed. The blonde man managed to shrug him off. He took a moment to regain his composure.

"I expect her to be checked again," Cloud pointed to Tifa who had risen when Angeal had been hit. Angeal stepped in front of her, blocking Cloud from gazing upon her.

"She is not for _you_. Leave." Angeal said in a low voice again.

"Sorry Angeal," Zack bowed his head apologetically as he dragged Cloud back into the castle and out of sight.

"Don't apologize! Your cousin's the one that's in the wrong!" The blonde man shouted as he tried to escape the grasp of his friend. "She should have an escort at all times."

"Shut up you idiot! Do you even understand what you've done?" Zack hissed back.

When they were out of ear shot, Elena and Aerith turned to face the dark haired pair. "I'm so, so, sorry Angeal. We tried to convince him not to come." Aerith wandered up to Tifa and Angeal. "He was completely out of line."

"Perhaps to avoid a repeat incident, you two could not go off on your own?" Elena folded her arms across her chest as she shifted nervously on her feet. Her bubbly demeanour had now completely vanished and was replaced by a rather distraught one. Angeal said nothing as he turned his back to the two women, reseating himself on the stone bench. He brought his hand up to his mouth to wipe away the blood before it could clot and dry on his face.

Aerith directed her attention to Tifa, who, to her own surprise, had kept quiet the entire time. "Miss Tifa, I do apologize. I hope that this will not sully your opinion of Cloud. First impressions often go awfully wrong."

"I think my opinion is far too sullied for him to recover from."

Aerith took a few steps forward, grabbing Tifa's wrist. The chestnut haired woman's jade eyes looked deeply into Tifa's own. Tifa attempted to pull back at the unwelcome physical contact but Aerith held a firm grip on her hand. There was something hidden within Aerith's eyes that made Tifa feel deluged with the other woman's own demeritorious feelings. Tifa shifted uncomfortably as she awaited Aerith's counter argument.

"Cloud is honestly a good man and I think you should take him up on his offer of courtship before you form a whole hearted opinion of him. He is much younger than all of the other Generals and sometimes he acts a bit brashly. Please Tifa, I'm asking you as a friend to give him a chance." Aerith seemed on the verge of tears.

"Friend?" Tifa questioned her, not sure if she had heard her correctly.

"Yes, friend," Aerith smiled, squeezing Tifa's hand reassuringly. "I would like to become friends with you if you would like to as well."

Tifa's mind was blank for a split second before several thoughts filled her head. At first she thought that Aerith was making a joke, mocking her solitary nature. Her second thought was that she had never had a friend before. Her third thought was that a friendship would only weigh her down as she tried to escape. She didn't want to feel guilty for leaving someone behind when she herself was a prisoner.

Aerith seemed to sense her emotional turmoil. The woman let go of Tifa's hand, flashing a brilliant smile. "You don't have to decide now. I just wanted you to know the option is there."

"Thanks," Tifa mumbled, looking off to the side.

Elena cleared her throat before she spoke, drawing their attention to the petite blonde woman. "Aerith, I think you should take Angeal to see your father before his lip gets infected. I'm going to take Tifa to get dressed and back to minding the children.

Angeal rose from the bench. He and Aerith left the garden in silence. Tifa watched the pair leave. As they re-entered the castle, she noticed a blonde girl with blue eyes and a skimpy red dress leaning against the massive stone door frame with a malevolent grin spread across the lower half of her face. "Scarlet." Tifa hissed under her breath. The fourteen year old receded into the shadows of the castle after shooting Tifa a knowing glance.

Elena heard the woman next to her. "I've never seen her hate anyone more. I don't know what you did to upset her this much, but I would advise you stop. As much as I believe that you would be able to best her this time, she will return with vengeance doing tenfold whatever you do to her."

"I have done nothing but a few verbal jousts," Tifa directed her attention fully to Elena. "I doubt that that would warrant her so much malice from her."

Elena shrugged, "It is getting serious now though. I'm afraid that now, because of Scarlet, you're going to be monitored more carefully. I can't ask you to discontinue your relationships with men that aren't your suitors, but I can say that it is probably in your best interest not to see them for the time being; at least until the heat cools down."

Tifa scowled. "I don't _choose_ to see them. They either seek me out or I run into them purely by coincidence."

Elena took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before letting it out. She plastered a smile on her face. "Well, let's go back. Denzel and Marlene really miss you. They would visit you in the infirmary three or four times a day."

* * *

"Yay!" Denzel and Marlene cheered when Tifa entered the children's room. She had been changed into her nanny dress. Marlene ran up and gave her a hug, wrapping her small arms as tight as she could around Tifa's waist. The dark haired woman stifled a grunt of pain. Tifa smiled at the two children, patting each of them on the head. They pulled her into the room and helped her sit on the couch, sensing that she was still sore.

On the opposite end of the couch was Rufus, looking over several pieces of parchment. He looked over at her, "As much as it pains me to say, I'm glad you're back." He went back to reading.

"Thank you, Rufus." Tifa flashed him a sincere smile that he caught out of the corner of his eyes.

A slight blushed formed over his cheeks. "I don't mean it like that." He was quick to defend himself as he immersed himself in his papers. "Denzel and Marlene tried to occupy themselves by pestering me to play with them and I have been on the receiving end of Scarlet's anger since Thursday. In your short time here, you've balanced the children's wing."

"It's just wrong when you're not here, Miss Tifa." Denzel said as he sat down cross legged on the floor in front of the woman. Externally, Tifa was smiling. Internally she was a mess. It dawned on her that she was getting too close to people. She had not been trying to fit in or make friends, everything she had done at Midgar Castle had simply been to bide her time until she would be free to make her escape.

"Tell us about Tius!" Marlene interjected as she raised her tiny fists in the air before taking a seat next to her brother.

Tifa thought for a moment, shaking off any sort of pain attached to the name. "This story is called... The Princess, the Dragon, and Tius." Denzel and Marlene exchanged excited looks. Rufus lowered his papers to listen as well.

The dark haired woman regaled them a tale about a young boy named Tius who had to slay a dragon and save the princess as directed by the princess' father. However when he encountered the dragon, he found that the princess had been the one to run away and the dragon had not captured her at all. The three became the best of friends. She spoke animatedly as she told the story. The children, including Rufus clapped when the story had come to an end.

Their attention was drawn to a fourth set of hands clapping. Tifa looked up to see a man standing at the door to the children's wing. A blush formed on her face when she realized he had probably overheard the majority of her story. His long black hair was tied back with a red ribbon. "Ah, General Valentine," Rufus gathered up the papers in his arms as he stood up from the couch. Rufus walked over to Vincent. "I have read over your recount of the Wutai War." The blonde man handed him the papers. "I think it could've been avoided with some sort of diplomatic solution."

Vincent remained silent as he listened to the prince.

"The whole premise of the war was idiotic and both parties are to blame. My father was stupid not to understand where the other side was coming from; he lost so many of his men including two of his oldest Generals. However, it is almost the exact same scenario as the previous war with Wutai. How many times must they repeat their mistakes? You'd think that after General Lockhart was exiled 25 years ago during the course of the war, they'd see the logic behind the actions he took to give him the status of an exile."

Tifa's ears perked up at the mention of General Lockhart. Hearing about her father was the last thing she had expected to hear when she woke up that morning. Vincent's eyes flicked to Tifa, registering the shock on her face. He seemed to put two and two together. Vincent redirected his attention back to Rufus who continued to natter on. When Rufus was finished, Vincent gave a slight bow to the blonde prince however Tifa got the impression was directed more towards her than him.

Tifa spent the rest of that Sunday with the children since they had no classes. Scarlet was nowhere to be seen. The dark haired woman lost track of time. It wasn't until Elena arrived in the children's wing to call them for dinner that Tifa realized how late it was. Tifa made the children clean up before they went down to dinner. They passed through many hallways that she was slowly attempting to commit to memory.

They entered the large dining room that had been used to hold the feast. Most of people that had been present during the feast were present that night. The Emperor of Wutai and his daughter had gone back to Wutai. Several nobles were not present. Zack, Cloud, and Aerith were nowhere to be seen. Tifa's eyes scanned over the faces of everyone in the room, Angeal was not present. Only three Generals were at the dining table; Genesis, Vincent, and Sephiroth. Scarlet had situated herself next to Sephiroth yet again.

The rest of the children sat down around the table as dinner was served. Tifa stood in the corner. The aroma of the food was mouth watering. Her stomach growled. She noticed that ever couple of minutes Scarlet would glare at her, and then whisper something to Sephiroth. Tifa wanted to smack herself for being stupid and not seeing it before. Scarlet liked Sephiroth and thought that Tifa was attempting to win him over. She shook her head and laughed dryly to herself.

Tifa was drawn out of her thoughts when she heard the sickly sound of chairs scraping across the stone floor. Sephiroth and Vincent both rose from their seats simultaneously. Several of the people around the table looked startled, including Scarlet. Vincent threw his napkin down on his half eaten dinner. Vincent walked out of the dining hall as Sephiroth approached Tifa.

"Come with us," He demanded, his silver eyebrows narrowing as he turned on his heel; not waiting for her response. Feeling like she didn't have much of a choice, she followed the silver haired General. She had great difficulty keeping up with his long strides partly because her legs were not as long as his and partly because she was still recovering. He led her through a series of hallways until she was thoroughly lost.

They met up with Vincent who was waiting for them outside a wooden door. The dark haired man pushed the door open to reveal a small study. The trio entered the room. Vincent gestured for her to sit down on a chair as he locked the door to the room. The man pressed his ear up to it for a moment to hear if anyone had been following them. Sephiroth leaned up against a large wooden desk. Tifa took a seat across from them. She looked the room over. There were a few potted plants, some books, and a large window. Vincent leaned against the door, observing her.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked, looking between the two men.

"Your father is General Tiusduyan Lockhart, correct?" Sephiroth asked.

"Was," Tifa changed the tense.

"We'll get right to the point then," Sephiroth said as he folded his arms across his chest. "You are aware that he was exiled?"

"Yes, what do you care?" Tifa frowned.

"We have a favour to ask," Vincent interjected.

"Don't mention anything about your father to Angeal." Sephiroth said bluntly. His face remained stoic but there was that emotion in his eyes that Tifa had seen when he told her that she was to be taken away to Midgar.

"What? Why?" Tifa gave them both a perplexed expression.

"In fact, it's best just not to let anyone know." Sephiroth ignored her.

* * *

_**A/N: yay! Chapter 5 is done. It's a bit shorter than my other chapters... well, my last couple of chapters. But I thought it was a good place to end things for this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I get really excited when I get reviews. I can't reply to anon reviews so instead, I give each anon review a tip of my hat. I am really happy that you guys like my story so much. **_

_**This is just a heads up for all the CloTi fans out there...I'm sorry but this ISN'T a Cloud and Tifa romance story. There are literally thousands of Cloud and Tifa romance stories out there; this is not one of them. (Hence the lack of TXC in the summary... mostly because I ran out of space.) It may seem like Cloud is out of character, but remember he's angry when we first meet him and acting irrational. My perception of Cloud is that he's a very head strong character and doesn't think before he acts. We'll definitely see more of him later but he is not the main focus of the story.**_

_**Some of your guys' answers were pretty close to, others weren't. I'm hoping that my writing isn't predictable. I cannot answer questions from anon reviews directly, as I've mentioned, so "**__**One tiny question though, why can't she read?" from anonnie. She can't read because her mother was not an educated woman and her father was busy either training her or in his smithy. No time for books... not to mention they couldn't afford them. But that was supposed to be revealed later... Tifa can't read... Vincent likes to read... a little bit of bonding? This story is extremely thought out... I have mind maps in my room because I was bored one day. **_

_**Fun fact: When I began this story, it was set in feudal Japan where Angeal was a lonely fisherman and Tifa was going to become to become Rufus' concubine. The two met after she threw herself off a cliff, attempting to commit suicide. She is taken back to the royal palace but the royal guards discover Angeal who was once a general for Rufus, a wealthy baron. Angeal is given the option to either die for deserting Rufus or become reinstated. (I was really into Memoirs of a Geisha when I started writing this fanfic.) One thing led to another and Tifa became a blacksmith in Nibelheim with a more European feel. (Consider that a story pitch. I may write it if I get people's thoughts on it.)**_


	6. Vox Populi

Chapter 6 – Vox Populi

_**A/N: Thank you to Sassay for Beta-Reading! Happy Belated Birthday SamWise!**_

* * *

_The snow was frigid against her skin. She shivered as she lay in the meadow that had been covered in a blanket of white. A cold wind blew across the secluded area, churning up small clusters of airborne snow that danced from one side of the meadow to the other. The young, dark haired girl, just entering her teen years, rubbed her scalp unconsciously. The cold snow soothed the burning from it having been yanked violently. Another shiver ran through her body. Her hand travelled down to her cheek where a bruise was forming._

_Her world had been completely torn asunder in a matter of hours. Even after several months, it had only gotten worse. Her father had changed. He had never laid a hand on her until that very night. She had no idea the treatment of her mother as the girl had been thrown out of the house for the night. She cringed inwardly at the thought of her frail body hitting the dirt ground as her father had tossed her outside. Her hair had hung over her eyes and blocked her view of anyone who had been watching. She knew they were there. She knew that people had seen her and not acknowledged her existence. _

_What had she done to deserve such cruel treatment? She wracked her brains for an answer. Only one thing came to mind. She should've taken her mother's place that night. She hadn't been strong enough to protect the woman she loved and admired. The dark haired girl clenched her fists shut tightly. They turned the same colour of everything else in her surroundings. She had never blamed anyone but herself for her family's misfortune. It should have been her._

_In the course of but one night, the secluded, stable family at the edge of the forest had turned into the poverty stricken family in a slum-like house in a town that seemed to both hate and loath their very existence. She held up her hand. Black ooze seeped out from her skin, running down her bare arm. Gravity forced some of the droplets to land on her face. Some of them stained the snow near her head. She blinked and the viscous obsidian liquid dissipated. If her agony had a physical manifestation, that was what it would be. She dropped her hand limply next to her. She closed her eyes, immediately cringing as her memories were called to the surface. Her mind registered the painful memories but refused to let tears fall. She had never cried, even as an infant; except for that one night that had changed her life. That was the night she had cried for the very first time. _

* * *

The morning sun streamed in through the bars on her window. Tifa massaged her scalp much like she had done in her dream, clearly remembering the pain of having bits of her hair yanked out. It had not been the worst torment she had endured, but who had been the tormenter had made it very difficult to forget. She inhaled deeply. She seemed to be getting more and more nightmares lately. Memories she had spent years trying to repress were coming back to the surface.

The vermillion eyed woman sat up slowly, her injury causing her less pain since she had been discharged on Sunday. Tifa got up and proceeded to get dressed. She still wasn't in any shape to try to escape. Perhaps in a few more days she would attempt again. The previous night she had been excused early from her duties since she had needed to rest. Vincent had said that Elena would take care of the children. The whole premise of Sephiroth and Vincent's conversation with her had been an odd one. She wanted to know _why _she couldn't tell Angeal but both men seemed reluctant to answer.

Tifa paused in her tracks. Angeal had never told her what he wanted to say. "That sneaky bastard..." She finished up getting dressed and attempted to drag a comb through her hair. It didn't help. Her hair was as unruly as ever. Shrugging at herself in the small vanity mirror on her dresser, she decided to leave like that. It was very early still, much too early for the children to be awake. She left her small room and headed down the corridor, careful to stay within arm's length of the wall in case she needed it.

Her stomach rumbled. She decided to make her way to the kitchen. She wasn't quite sure how to get there, but after several long hallways and a few flights of stairs, she made it. The smell of freshly baked bread on the other side of the door beckoned her. She pushed open the door, only expecting to find her caretakers. She was surprised to see Sephiroth sitting on a barrel. He was dressed in a pair of grey pantaloons, a white puffy shirt and black jabot with shimmering silver tie tack. The light from the sunrise fell onto his long silver hair that appeared to be still wet from a recent bath. He looked ethereal. Tifa's breath hitched in the back of her throat.

Sephiroth turned towards her when he noticed her arrival. He caught her staring at him and cocked a frosty eyebrow at her.

"Look whose outta the infirmary," Barret's boomed from his spot by the cooking spit.

Tifa jumped slightly at his loud voice. She directed her attention to the large dark skinned man and the scraggily looking blonde man with a pipe.

"Ya gotta make things so goddamn difficult for us don't you?" Cid scowled. He didn't seem truly angry though.

"Excuse me?" Tifa asked.

Cid threw a stack of letters tied together with a single string towards the dark haired woman. "They just keep comin' in! Ya need to start courtin' soon. I'm gettin' tired of gettin' yer mail." Tifa managed to catch the stack before it hit the ground. "Not ta mention, General Strife been pissin' us off." Cid took a puff of his pipe. "Had to move your date up from Thursday to tonight just ta get 'em ta shaddup."

"What?" Tifa all but shouted. "I never agreed to court him."

"Ya don't get to decide who ya court. It is our job as your caretakers to arrange the meetings. All ya gotta do is decide if ya like em." Barret corrected her.

"I can already tell you I don't like any of them!" Tifa walked further into the kitchen.

"Is that any attitude ta have?" Cid taunted, walking closer to her.

She folded her arms across her chest and stood her ground. "It is my life; do I not get any say in how I choose to live it?"

Cid and Barret exchanged exasperated faces. "No," they said together.

"Ya forget that yer a woman and yer role in life is already predetermined." Cid said. "Get married and make lots of babies."

Tifa slammed her fist on the kitchen table; silencing everyone. Her eyes burned with hatred. Her mother had seemed to give into that role so easily and several times, it had almost been the death of her. It had ultimately succeeded in killing her. To say that she loathed the idea of following in her mother's footsteps was a gross understatement. "I am not some mare to be impregnated!" Tifa's voice was at the same volume as Barret's. "I have my own wants and desires and not a goddamn one of them have to do with laying down becoming someone's bitch!"

Cid's pipe fell on the floor as his mouth hung open. Tifa's anger had shocked them all. Barret stared at her in silence. Sephiroth had risen from the barrel, hovering slightly. He too had been surprised by her mouth. He knew she was an outspoken woman, but he had not expected her to speak so crassly. She dropped the stack of letter roughly on the table before making her exit. Fuming, she walked back up the hall where she came down just moment before. There was a cry of rusted hinges behind her. Her back straightened at the sour noise and she turned slowly to see who had followed her out.

"You've forgotten something," Sephiroth said in a low voice. The tall man walked up to her, invading her personal space as he held out the stack of letters. He jammed his hand in his pocket.

"Was I being too subtle for your tiny brain?" Her words were laced with venom, still fuelled by the ideal lifestyle that had been forced upon women. I don't want anything to do with those wretched men," Tifa folded her arms firmly across her chest

He stared down at her with large emerald eyes. His face was blank and emotionless but his eyes told a completely different story. There was something akin to pity in them. "Are you afraid of men?"

Tifa was caught off guard by the question. "No." She replied hastily. He gave a look of scepticism at her defensive demeanour. He took a step closer, testing his theory. The silver haired General leant in close to her face. Her brain screamed for her to back away, but her pride forced her to hold her ground. "Satisfied?" He didn't answer, just leant in closer. So close that she could smell apples on his breath. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her defensive reflex set in, she slapped him across the face and backed up several paces.

Sephiroth straightened with a frown. "Not men in general, just me?"

"What is it you want?" Tifa fired back, narrowing her eyes. "I don't have any money or valuable possessions."

"I'm not interested in that stuff," he replied as he straightened his jabot. His sleeve fell away from his wrist, revealing a rather gruesome looking scar across his forearm.

"Then what? It's obvious that you are not fond of me, nor am I that fond of you." Tifa redirected her attention from his scar back to his face.

Before he could respond, a person called out from behind Tifa. "Sephiroth, your presence is required in the meeting." Tifa turned to see the auburn haired General known as Genesis. She heard the rustling of paper and turned to face Sephiroth again.

"It's funny; we're actually in the same class now." He roughly shoved the stack of letters into her arms before he followed his brother in arms down the hall.

She held up the letters to get a better look at them. If she threw them out, someone would probably return them to her. Her only other option was fire. There were candles in that library place. She couldn't quite recall if she had seen fire place or not. There was definitely a fire place in the kitchen, but she was _not _going back in there. Her stomach rumbled, calling her attention to her hunger. The vermillion eyed woman frowned, sustenance would have to be attained when no one was around.

Tifa wandered around for a few minutes before running into a young maid who had pointed her in the direction of the library. Recognizing the large wooden doors, she pushed them open. She wandered in cautiously, checking to see if anyone else was there. There wasn't. The dark haired woman made her way to a dying fire place that she had spotted just moments ago. She grasped a large iron poker in her hand and angrily jabbed at the coals. She attempted to rekindle the fire with nearby logs.

There was a long, drawn out groan from somewhere in the room. Tifa instantly straightened up, hot poker in one hand and a stack of letters clutched tightly in the other. From behind a large pile of papers and books on a desk popped the head of Vincent Valentine. He was groggy and tired; eyes with crust around the edges.

"Vincent?" Tifa took a couple of steps towards him.

"Vincent?" He looked at her with hooded eyes. "I didn't realize we were on such familiar terms, _Miss_ Lockhart." He stood up and stretched, his joints popping as he did so. "Is it morning already?"

"Yes," Tifa replied lowering her poker.

"Ah," He said, looking at the mess he had made on the desk. "Monday..." He murmured to himself.

Tifa turned back towards the fire, the flames beginning to engulf the logs she had just placed. She threw the letter onto the fire and watched the flames lap them up. The string broke, causing the letters to scatter themselves across the fire.

"Oh..." Vincent said from right next to her. Tifa jumped back a little, she hadn't heard the man move at all. "Now see that... you shouldn't have done that."

"Why not? I wash my hands of courting and marriage."

"Someone is going to be quite displeased with you," Vincent pointed a, long, slender finger to a single black envelope that had fallen from the pile.

"Grab it!"

"I thought you said you washed your hands."

"Quickly! Grab it."

"I'd rather not."

"It's going to burn!"

"Wasn't that your original plan?"

"Just get it!"

Vincent reached into the fire, pulling out the letter. Flames attached themselves to it. Vincent gave a slight hiss before dropping the flaming letter on the floor. He stomped out the flames. Tifa picked up the black letter. She turned it over. There was something inscribed on it, her name she guessed. On the opposite side was a silver seal. The seal had been melted into the parchment and the flames had devoured over half the letter. Tifa carefully tried to open it and get a glimpse at the contents.

She managed to get it open, but the characters on the paper were all foreign to her. She scowled at the page. Vincent looked over her shoulder. "I humbly request the courtship of Miss Tifa Lockhart. I hope that she will... following the... signed... The rest is unreadable."

"What do you mean unreadable?" Tifa looked over at Vincent who was wandering back over to his desk. "Who's it from?" She followed him over to the desk

He simply shook his head. "You'll never know now. He's going to be angered."

"If you know whose letter it was, why can't you just tell me?"

"You make your own choices and you chose not to open the letter before you threw it away. Is independence not what you desire?"

"Even if I did open them, what good would that do? I cannot read them."

"Why is that? Your father was actually the one who taught me how to read."

"You knew my father?"

"Yes, I did. Back when he was a General, but you haven't answered my question."

Tifa turned her back to him, wandering over to the couch in the middle of the library. "We struggled. There was barely money for food. Books and parchment were a luxury we couldn't afford. He had to really work. There was no time for that. My mother couldn't teach me because she didn't know how."

"He taught you how to fight, did he not? Why was there time for fighting and not time for reading and writing, even if it was just in the dirt?"

"Because I'm a girl," Tifa cast him a distasteful glance.

"So?" Vincent sat down at the desk, looking over the piles of books at her. "I know quite a few women who are educated. Marlene and Scarlet's tutor is a woman named Cissnei and she is one of the most well read woman I have ever met. Miss Gainsborough is quite the reader herself. Genesis' cousin, Rosso, is well educated."

"Those are all woman who are born into a wealthy family, are they not?"

"Well, yes."

Tifa gripped the letter tightly, feeling a bit apprehensive about it. Would the person who wrote it confront her about it? Another thought struck her. _Who cares? _It wasn't like she was going to be hanging around long enough for the person to find out. She'd be long gone in a couple of days when she regained her strength. Vincent went back to his papers, immersing himself completely.

She looked over at him, studying his features. He seemed like a broody man to her, always hung up over a past wrong doing. There was just something so familiar about him. Not in the sense that she had met him before but that he reminded her of herself. He seemed weary of people, shying away from human interactions. And, yet, he had no problem talking to her. She recalled when Sephiroth had walked in on them in the library; Vincent had immediately retreated into himself. Even during their conversation, he seemed to be thinking about something else. It was obvious he wasn't overly fond of talking about his troubles. A man of few words? Perhaps. But not when it was just the two of them. Why her?

"I have a question for you," She leant on the couch arm, casting him a sideways glance. He didn't make any indication that he had heard her but she had a feeling he had. "Why do you talk to me so much if we, in your words, _are not that familiar?_"

"Doesn't the same question apply to yourself?" He didn't look up.

"You don't seem like the type to go flapping your gums. And I asked you first."

"Ah," He put down the paper. Vincent stared at her stoically. "Because I know." She gave him a confused expression before he elaborated. "I know what happened." Tifa stiffened, her stomach felt queasy. "I know what you've been forced to live through and I see more of myself in you every day."

"Wh-what do you know?" Tifa's knuckles were turning white around the letter.

He held up his pale hand to silence her. "I am not the type to go _flapping my gums_, as it were. You need not worry yourself. I know the gist of your story but not the entirety of it. We have walked similar paths and that is why I speak with you more than any other."

Tifa felt flattered but that did nothing to ease the tension he had created by admitting he knew about her dark past. Feeling at ill ease, she decided to change the subject. "What are you reading?"

"Notes. We are faced with a worthy adversary. I am reading over their history and trying to find how to bring them down without engaging in war. Although, it may just come to that." He rubbed his temples in frustration.

* * *

Evening came quickly. Tifa was able to get through the rest of the day without much incident. Although, there was a sense of impending doom lingering over head. The later it got into the day, the closer her date with General Strife was. She stood in the corner of the dining hall, watching the nobles and dignitaries stuff food down their gullets. The whole lifestyle sickened her the more she got used to it. She thought back when she had gone nights without eating anything. Sometimes a roll of bread had to last the span of a week.

Her stomach growled as she watched King Shinra gnaw off the leg of a rather plump turkey. He ate about half the meat off the bone before tossing the rest to the dogs in the corner. Realization hit her. On the opposite end of the room lay a group of hounds waiting for scraps. Was she so different from them? They both waited to be ordered around and they both were so miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Unimportant.

Tifa wrapped her arms around herself as the thought sent shivers up her spine.

"Something is bothering you," Shelke said as more of a statement then a question. Tifa turned to look at the copper haired girl next to her.

Tifa sighed. "How long have you been here? Don't you get tired of this?"

"I have been here for 22 years. I have never known another way."

"22 years?" Tifa looked down at the girl next to her. "But you look so much younger."

"I am 25."

"Did they push you to get married too?"

"I cannot marry." Her voice was so devoid of emotion it sent a series of chills up Tifa's spine.

"Why not? If you don't mind my asking."

"My legs have been uncrossed. No man would take me for their bride. I am too old now."

Tifa wasn't sure how to respond. She felt relief that the girl was not bound to a life of domestic servitude. "You've saved yourself a great deal of pain."

"I did not ask for this." Shelke replied instantly. "It was not of my own accord." The first flicker of emotion appeared in the girl. Rage. Tifa recognized it all too well. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." Tifa apologized sincerely, returning her attention to the feast. Shelke had given her an idea to escape marriage though. If she was no longer a virgin, then she would not have to have a husband. She struck the idea from her mind. Intimacy with a man was not something she was willing to do. An idle thought crossed her mind. If she were to bed with a man for just one night, who would she pick?

Her eyes travelled across the many faces at the table. Would it be a complete stranger or someone she knew? She didn't know anything about General Fair or General Rhapsodos. No bond would form there, which would be ideal. General Strife... disgusted her to say the least. She would never bow down to him. General Crescent, big _no_ there. He probably wouldn't be gentle about it. General Hewley seemed nice enough. She enjoyed being around him; as much as a prisoner _could _enjoy being around their captor. Then there was General Valentine. He had been the most helpful during her stay in Midgar. He had not pressed her for information or forced her to do anything she didn't want to do. Although, he seemed like such a depressing man.

Tifa sighed to herself. Just a few more days to gain the strength. Perhaps when she left she could return to Nibelheim and pack the remainder of her things that had not been seized by Sephiroth and his men; on the off chance that the scum that called themselves townsfolk hadn't ransacked the _rest _of her paraphernalia. A grave marker of some sort needed to be erected in the place of Tius' death. The thought of her last cherished person's death weighed heavy on her. She had tried everything. Despite her reluctance to cooperate, she was willing to if it had meant sparing the life her _child._

A frown marred her face as her brow furrowed. History, it seemed, had a funny way of repeating itself.

"If that damnable man wants to continue provoking me, then he'll ends up getting a full scale war!" The loud, booming voice of the King echoed across the hall, bringing Tifa out of her reverie.

"Sire, if I might say, another war would be ill-advised. You've only recently mended fences with the war on Wutai." The spectacled, dark hair man with glasses sitting next to the king said.

"We have not the men at our disposal." The King's eldest son, Lazard said from the other side of the King. "It will take us a few more years to build the army to its former glory. Laying low until such a time would be best."

"They may also try and bring Emperor Godo to their side. If my hunch is correct, he doesn't quite trust you as of yet. Perhaps a _union _of sorts will solidify his trust, and he may also be willing to supply a few men, hmm?" The scrawny advisor suggested.

"Hojo, what do you mean by _union_?" The king frowned over a fork full of mashed potatoes.

"Godo has a daughter does he not? You have two sons." Hojo said, earning a hateful look from Lazard from not being classified as the King's son.

"Does he have a son? I would much rather give them my daughter then have the next heir to the throne be half Wutainese." The king said, earning a couple of chuckles from the nobles surrounding them. Tifa gritted her teeth. What a vile thing to say. Her vermillion speckled eyes drifted towards Scarlet who was sitting between Sephiroth and Marlene. She was gripping the handle of the fork that she had stabbed angrily into her steak. Her lips were pursed in a pout and her brows were knitted together.

"Well Scarlet, how would you like to marry a nice Wutainese man?" Her father chided, teasingly. Scarlet threw her napkin over her plate and stormed out of the dining hall, her heels clicking viciously on the floor.

After dinner was over, Tifa escorted the remaining children back to the children's wing.

"A wedding! That sounds like fun!" Marlene chirped excitedly as she waved her hands up and down.

"Don't get your hopes up. There is no way that Scarlet would ever agree to that," Denzel scolded her.

"Father does not care about the will of others. She will marry who he says to marry. Unless she is able to find a suitor of her own choice that he approves of more than the other suitors he has picked, she will do as she's told." Rufus added. _Approves of more than the other suitors... _Tifa thought to herself. The children played for another hour before they went to bed. The dark haired woman sat on the couch collecting her thoughts.

There was a knock on the door. In walked a young group of maids. Behind them stood a person Tifa had hoped she would never encounter again. Her eyes widened at the sight of her enemy.

"Miss Lockhart. It is time to get you ready for your date." The elderly maid who had violated her spoke.

* * *

_**A/N: Ah! That took too long, too long indeed. I was having trouble moving the plot forward without revealing too much. I don't think it's my best chapter... but some things had to be said. I really had to push myself to write this one because I generally dislike everything but the flashback and the Library scene. Comments? Concerns? Next Chapter will be much better. I promise you that. It will be a longer one. I just figured it was a good place to end things. Ooooo! The big date's coming up! Will Cloud be charming or make an ass of himself, yet again? Vincent seems to be worming his way into Tifa's world now too. And the black letter, three guesses who! **_

_**Chapter 7 is 45% finished. I've given you all the puzzle pieces, now it's time to fit them together.**_

_**Apparently there is no word for "History Repeating itself", which is what I wanted to name this chapter. So I settled for Vox Populi which is Latin for public opinion. That's a reference to their views on women. **_


	7. Malice

Chapter 7 - Malice

_**A/N: Thank you to Sassay for Beta Reading.**_

* * *

"Don't you come anywhere near me!" Tifa leapt off the couch, wincing as a sharp pain went through her chest. She paused for but a moment before she scooted behind the couch, creating a barricade of sorts between her and the elderly maid.

"My dear, will you not come with us willingly?" The woman shook her head. Tifa picked one of Denzel's wooden tops up off the floor, holding it tightly in her hand; ready to strike anyone who came near her. "Guards!"

Two heavily armoured men trotted into the room, each holding a large halberd. They pointed their weapons at her, waiting for her to make her move. The loud chinking of their armour was an assault on her ears.

"Miss Lockhart," A gentle voice called out. Tifa saw Aerith walk through the door to the children's wing. "They just want to bathe and dress you. You don't need to fight them."

The dark haired woman frowned. Was Aerith trustworthy? With a sigh, Tifa walked out from behind the couch. The guards were on her in an instant. Grabbing her arms and pushing her down until she dropped to her knees. The Head maid walked up to the now subdued Tifa who had a sinister look in her eyes. The elderly woman fished for something in her apron pocket she pulled out a small paper envelope. The woman plugged Tifa's nose until she was forced to open her mouth for air. She poured a small portion of a fine, powdered blue substance into Tifa's mouth. Tifa tried to spit out whatever the substance was but the woman held the younger one's mouth closed until she was sure the strange concoction had dissolved itself.

Tifa began to feel a numbness growing from the tips of her fingers and toes. Her rapid heart rate seemed to speed up the process. She felt the numbness spreading with every heartbeat. She tried to flex her fingers but they didn't respond. "What have you done to me?!" Tifa spat on the maid's shoes. She jerked in the guards' hold.

"I don't think that was necessary, Minerva. She was willing to cooperate." Aerith chastised the woman.

"She would fight us if I had not." The woman turned her back to Tifa, walking out the door. She turned her head to give the guards their orders. "Bring her."

"I'm looking forward to my date this week, Miss Lockhart." The guard on her right side whispered into her ear. Tifa couldn't respond. Her vision was turning black. With a deep breath, her eyes closed and she was lulled into a deep slumber.

* * *

_The sound of horse hooves drew her outside like a stray cat to a saucer of milk. The sun was much brighter than she had expected. The young girl held her hand up weakly to block the sun so she could see who had arrived in town. Dehydration made it difficult to see past her own two feet. The young girl squinted at the dozen or so armoured blobs sitting atop of horses. She was unable to make positive identification on any of them. Her stomach rumbled violently. She clutched the bundle of blankets in her arm closer to her bosom, reminding herself why she was starving. She was giving her food to the gift her mother had bestowed upon her before her untimely death. She heard the shattering of glass from around the side of her house. Someone, most likely her father, had thrown his whiskey bottle down. _

_The girl's father angrily trudged towards the men on horseback. His hand was bleeding from the broken glass. "Hollander! You son of a bitch!" His speech was slurred. _

"_Tiusduyan, you're a wreck," the dark haired man on horseback responded. _

"_Get off your horse! I wish to fight you!" Her father commanded._

"_Go back to your blacksmith, you pathetic man. Your stench is far from bearable." Hollander replied, sick amusement evident in his tone._

"You_! I will never be as pathetic as you! _You_ are the one who made me this way!" Tius held his ground._

"_You ruined yourself the day you decided to go against orders," Hollander laughed._

"_I was much better without the cushy title of General! I had a family and a home, but you had to go and destroy that you son of a bitch!" Tius stumbled around, losing his balance momentarily. "You killed my wife!"_

"_I never touched your wife," Hollander said distastefully, as if the idea repulsed him._

"_She died in child birth because of that child!" Tius shouted angrily, pointing in the direction of his daughter and the babe. _

"_Then would it not be the child who killed her?" Hollander looked in the direction of the teenage girl, his eyes lapping up her form greedily. She had long dark hair, like her father. The girl was just growing out of her child years. Her face was becoming more slender and her features becoming sharper. It wouldn't be long before she turned into quite the looker; although the signs of starvation were evident on her. Her limbs were much too thin and she looked weak. "So this is the child you've kept hidden from me...stunning. Just like her mother." Hollander moved to dismount and inspect the girl._

"_Hollander, we do not have the time to indulge in such things. Our presence is required back at the castle." Hollander's second in command spoke. The man sat atop of his horse with a certain regalness and authority that Hollander could only dream of attaining. _

"_I suppose you are right." Hollander directed his attention back to the former General still trying to pick a fight. "Once again Tius, I never touched your wife. The child is not mine." He turned back to his second in command. "Let's go General Crest." _

_The other man gave an irritated sigh. "Surely you'd learn my _proper_name_ _after 5 years. You are getting closer though." With that, the group of men sped off._

* * *

"I don't know, perhaps Zack will ask me to court him sometime soon. We've known each other since we were children." Aerith's voice was the first thing Tifa heard. She opened her eyes but could see nothing but darkness not unlike looking into the back of her eyelids moments before. Her limbs refused to move, a state she had grown familiar to since she came to stay at the Midgar Palace. Prickling sensations covered her skin. Her breathing seemed to be restricted to small shallow breaths.

"I sometimes wonder if Tseng will notice me at all," Elena's voice was on the opposite side of the room.

"I'm sure he will; perhaps he just has his mind on other matters." Aerith replied.

The two woman continued to gossip while Tifa diverted her entire attention into coming out of her comatose-like state. A task and a half it would seem. She took note of the fact that she was sitting up on something hard. Her arms were out in front of her, resting one something. Her right index finger began to tap impatiently on a wooden object. A strong odour filled her nostrils. If she had been able to jerk her head away she would have. After a few moments, she realized the smell was coming from her. Someone had spritzed perfume on her. She regained function of her hands just as the black from her vision cleared.

Her eyes widened in surprise. The most beautifully extravagant woman she had ever seen was sitting right across from her. The woman had her voluminous dark hair half up and half cascading down her neck into ringlets. Her creamy skin was a stark contrast to her dark hair. Her eyes were the boldest of vermillion and outlined with obsidian charcoal. Her lashes were long and her lips were painted a pale pink. She wore a cerulean dress with long, flowing sleeves and a tight bodice, no doubt the cause of her discomfort whilst breathing.

Tifa blinked at the strange woman. Her features were so defined and sharp. It finally dawned on her that she was not sitting across from an elegant woman, but sitting in front of a vanity mirror. Her eyes widened even more, this time out of horror. She opened her mouth to say something but her tongue wouldn't obey. A gurgle-like sound emerged from her throat as she tried to shout at whoever had done such a horrendous thing to her. Her only functioning appendages banged furiously on the top of the vanity.

"Tifa!" Aerith came rushing to her aid. "What's wrong?"

"Calm down!" Elena exclaimed.

Tifa produced more infantile gurgles and noises as she attempted to express her distaste. She jerked her right shoulder, accidently hitting Elena in the nose. The blonde woman reeled back, clutching the point of impact tightly in her hands. Aerith ran to the other woman to inspect her. The dark haired woman squirmed and wriggled her way off the chair. She fell on her stomach, the air leaving her lungs in one rush. She took a moment to regain herself before attempting to crawl towards the only door in the room. Her legs were still numb but there was a tingling sensation at the very tips of her toes inside tightly laced heeled boots. Using her forearms and shoulders, she attempted to flee.

"Where are you going? You have your date with Cloud," Aerith reminded her. Tifa grimaced at the thought. The other two women attempted to grab the former blacksmith by her arms and prop her up. Tifa had not the strength to fight back, being drugged and convalescing. "You'll ruin your hair." Aerith tucked in a few strands of hair that had fallen loose.

"N-no," Tifa's voice was hoarse and husky.

"What's wrong? Is blue not your colour? _I _wanted to dress you in pink but_ Elena_ said it didn't suit you at all."

"Blue is much better," Elena added. "Red also looks good on you, but that's Scarlet's colour. I didn't think you'd want that."

"Good news Tifa! You're still virgin, I mean, I didn't doubt it, but it had to be checked." Aerith clasped her hands in front of her chest. The green eyed woman flashed a luminous smile at Tifa. Tifa scowled at the thought of the old crone sticking her wrinkled digits in her most private of places. Part of her was glad that she had been unconscious for that ordeal and the other part of her wished she had been awake to fight her off.

"It's time to get going, your caretakers are waiting." The two women helped a reluctant Tifa to her feet. Her legs still numb from the drugs, she fell forward towards Aerith. Elena steadied her. "Oopsy Daisy."

With a woman on either side of her, Tifa was dragged down out of the room, down the corridor and toward a wing of the castle she had not previously entered. There were still nobles and servants milling about so she must not have been passed out for very long. A feeling of dread started to settle over her. She had no idea where she was going and people seemed to be staring at her. Her pulse beat in her ears as she tried hard to keep a straight face and not lash at her self-appointed friends. She knew they were just trying to do what they thought was right, but that didn't make it any less wrong in her opinion.

"And who is this radiant woman, Miss Gainsborough?" Tifa's head snapped to the side to look at who had spoken. Genesis stood in front of a large group of men who appeared to be leaving a meeting of sorts. Several sets of eyes lapping up Tifa's form. Among that group were five of the six Generals, the King, the two eldest Princes, and many more men of high status.

"Gentlemen, this is Miss Tifa Lockhart," Elena introduced her. Tifa shot the blonde woman a dirty glance.

Vincent, whose facial features always appeared set in stone, had widened his eyes but a fraction. Angeal's jaw was clenched angrily and his fists were buried deep in his pockets. Zack's eyes were wide and his mouth was ajar. Genesis, who had initiated the conversation, looked taken aback. Sephiroth stood silently in the corner, a small, unexpected grin gracing his lips.

"We must go, General Strife is waiting." Aerith waved as she and Elena continued to escort her down the hall. She heard the murmur of excited voices behind her.

Eventually they came to a door where Barret and Cid were standing. "'Bout damn time." Barret folded his arms.

"Bastards in there," Cid gestured to the door. "'ere's how this is gonna work. Barret and ya go inside. Barret lights a candle an' sits in the corner. When the candle burns out, the date is over. I'mma stand out 'ere an' make sure nobody comes in."

Aerith gave Tifa a reassuring squeeze on her arm. "Good luck. Cloud really is a sweetheart once you get to know him. Please just give him a chance. You may find you really like him." Aerith flashed one of her almost blinding smiles. Tifa tried to take a few steps on her own, her legs almost cooperating again. The heels threw her off and she fell forward against Barret.

"She's still recovering from the Kreptine." Elena said. Barret and Cid nodded in understanding. The blonde man took a puff of his pipe as he watched Barret escort Tifa into the room. Pushing open the door and entering the room, Tifa found herself looking at a gross display of wealth. The room she was in was large and well furnished. Wall to wall satin drapes. The couches were made of soft velvet. An expensive candelabra hung above a gold and glass table. A white rug that looked to be made of the finest white wolf pelts spanned the entire middle part of the room. Above a marble fireplace hung a hand stitched tapestry of mountain, surrounded by a forest somewhere in Wutai.

In the centre of the room stood a blonde, spiky haired man who appeared to be in his Sunday best. He wore a deep beryl tunic, adorned with gold cuffs, gold clasps, gold spaulders and a number of medals over his left breast. His blue eyes scanned her judgingly. Barret moved Tifa to the couch. He offered to help her sit, but she refused his aid, seating herself. The large man lit the candle and proceeded to sit on a chair in the far corner of the room, out of sight, but within earshot.

Cloud seemed to stare her down. Tifa's bold crimson gaze never faltered as she stared right back. A stifling silence hung over them. The staring contest was broken when Barret pulled a knife out of his pocket and began twiddling a piece of wood. Tifa glanced over her shoulder at the other man briefly before returning her attention to Cloud.

He swallowed roughly as he bowed and placed his right arm over his chest, bowing at the waist. The blonde man sat down cautiously on the couch directly across from her. "Thank you for joining me. I am honoured that you've considered me as your suitor."

"What? Considered you? I was subdued, drugged, and dragged here. _Joining you _was not of my own accord." Tifa crossed her arms across her chest, looking off in the distance.

Cloud chuckled lightly, though it sounded a little forced. Her back straightened at the strange sound. "I suppose Minerva takes her job very seriously." He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'll tell you a bit about myself. My full name is Cloudestine Percillious Von Strife the third. I am 21 years old and the youngest General. My mother is the King's younger sister and my father hailed from a wealthy family in the northern continent. My combat specialty is dual wielding. I run the fourth battalion which specializes in defending the castle in case of an attack, should the attack break through the gates of Midgar."

Tifa sighed inwardly. She could tell he was trying to impress her, as if he was hoping that his high status would sweep her away and into his bed. His words were lost on her. She couldn't care any less. He continued to blather on about this and that, explaining every single medal he had ever earned and why he had earned them. Tifa had to keep from nodding off halfway through his battle exploits. He didn't seem to notice. She couldn't help but wonder if she scratched him like she had done Sephiroth if she would get thrown in a dungeon for real. Perhaps then she wouldn't have to listen to spoiled, cocky rich boys. No, being locked in a dungeon would be counterproductive. At least as a childminder she had some freedom to roam, even if it was never out of the castle.

_Freedom... _she mulled the word over in her head. An image of Angeal filled her mind as she thought about her attempts at freedom being foiled by the General. In the back of her mind, she wondered what he had been up to since they were in the garden. Then she thought back to seeing him staring at her in the hallway before her date. He looked rather disgruntled. Was he mad at her? Had he received more flack about the two being alone that time in the garden? Was he blaming her for that? Tifa snorted out loud. Again, Cloud seemed to be paying no mind to her. Angeal could not blame her for that. _He _was the one who brought her to the garden.

She thought back to Sephiroth's smile. Perhaps he had eaten too much at dinner and he simply had gas. The corner of her mouth twitched as she kept herself from laughing. The harder she thought about the smile, the more eerie it seemed. Why would he smile? She had once heard a villager say that women were confusing. She had to disagree. Men were the odder ones, especially Sephiroth. He wore his hair like a woman would, but she supposed Vincent did as well. Sephiroth's was more prominent though because of the odd silver colour. It made him appear older than he was.

Cloud clapped his hands together, changing the subject and drawing Tifa's attention simultaneously. "That's enough about me, let's get down to business. You look as if you have a bit of Wutainese in you. Is that true?" Tifa chose not to answer. None of it concerned him at all. Cloud continued to probe when she didn't respond. "Well? Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

"..."

"This will be a lot easier if you just answer the questions." The blonde man said with irritation evident in his tone.

"My mother."

"How old are you exactly?"

"18 and a half."

Cloud scoffed. "A little too old..." He mumbled to himself before redirecting his attention back to Tifa. "And you are good with children?"

"Yes."

"Let me see your hands." Cloud ordered as he moved to the edge of his seat, his own hands waiting for hers.

"What? Why?" The dark haired woman frowned.

"Just let me see them... _please_." He seemed to struggle with politeness. Tifa held out her hands for him. Cloud took them in his own hands, examining them thoroughly. He poked at her calices, running the tips of his fingers over her dry, hardened skin. He glanced over her broken and cracked nails. The physical contact sent shivers up her spine. "Much too rough, you should take better care of yourself." Tifa drew back immediately.

"What does it matter? I am but a prisoner masquerading as a nanny." Tifa frowned at Cloud, insulted.

"You have potential, although you are much huskier than I had hoped. Woman should be thin and slender; delicate. Your arms are almost bulging with muscles. But, I suppose that will help you when you tend to the flower garden you will have and the children you will bear." Barret stopped working the wood as soon as Cloud spoke, sensing Tifa's growing frustration. The large man shook his head. Gripping onto the folds of her skirt, Tifa felt the fires of outrage form in the pit of her stomach. Anyone else would've felt the shift in the atmosphere and let the subject drop, perhaps even offer an apology. Cloud continued with his doomed train of thought. "You should also wear more pink; it's more feminine. You have wide birthing hips which is a good thing. I don't really want my future offspring to be any parts Wutainese, but I think I'm willing to overlook that aspect since you are of _adequate_ beauty."

"Excuse me?" Tifa had to let his words sink in for just a moment, not necessarily surprised by his words, but not quiet believing that he had been so blunt.

"Was your mother relatively fertile? I plan on having a fair amount of children." Cloud pressed on.

"Wait just a-."

"Are you educated? Can you read and write?"

"Slow down-." Tifa felt the corner of her eye twitch.

"No I suppose not. A mere blacksmith would not know such things."

"Will you _shut up_?!" Tifa raised her voice.

"I beg your pardon?" Cloud looked shocked at her outburst.

"If you're just looking for some brood mother, then you're looking at the wrong person. There are plenty of other, _non-Wuitanese_ woman capable of fulfilling that role. I'm sure you'd find a number of them at night walking the streets. Throw a couple of gil their way any you'll be able to have as many kids as you want." Tifa rose from the couch slowly, attempting to steady herself in the heeled boots. "You and your ideals of the perfect mate can kindly fuck off." The dark haired woman licked her middle and index finger. She snuffed out the flame of the candle before hobbling out of the room, Barret quickly on her tail. Throwing open the door, Aerith, Elena and Cid jumped back in surprise, obviously having been listening to the entire conversation. Angeal stood a few feet away from them, appearing as if he had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With a huff, Tifa stumbled past them. Angrily, she tore off the ridiculous shoes, throwing them to the floor. Shaking her head, she pulled out whatever pins were holding her hair up, discarding them along with her boots. The dark haired woman moved to leave.

"Tifa, where are you going?" Aerith asked, reaching out with concern to her friend.

"Don't touch me," Tifa stared coldly over her shoulder at the woman. "I think you've done enough for today, _Miss Gainsborough._"

Aerith looked a combination of guilty and hurt. She clasped her hands to her chest, on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry; I was just trying to help."

"I have no need for _friends," _Tifa stared straight ahead at the empty corridor. Now would be the ideal time to break things off with Aerith before the green eyed woman grew too attached. Tifa's resolve to escape had solidified now more than ever. She was not unbinding herself from Aerith out of malice, although to the unbiased bystander it might appear that way. Although she was furious with Cloud, she was merely disappointed in Aerith. "_Especially_ ones who betray me."

There was a soft sob from behind Tifa. Remorse swept over her as she had made the young woman cry. The door opened, Cloud stood in the frame, looking between Tifa and Aerith. He compared the two in his mind. The well kept, slender daughter of the doctor and the unkempt, curvaceous blacksmith. One in pink, one in blue. One with green eyes, one with red. One with sandy brown hair and the other with almost black hair. One jaded and filled with resentment, the other empathetic and caring. The two couldn't be more opposite.

"_Cloooooud! Wake up, I'm sorry." A young male__'__s voice called out. The blonde lying on the floor of the practice courtyard sat up. He rubbed his head. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard." The dark haired boy sat down in front of his friend. "I guess I don't know my own strength." He laughed lightly. "I've sent for the doctor, he's on his way."_

"_I'm fine Zachary." The young blonde boy said dismissively. "I don't get it though, why are you so much stronger than I am?"_

"_Well, I'm a couple years older than you are." Zack scratched his dark head. "Hey! I forgot to tell you my good news when we were sparring. You remember my big cousin Angeal right?" Cloud nodded. "He said he was going to take me on as an apprentice once he's finished his own apprenticeship. Someday, I'm going to lead my own battalion."_

_A pang of jealousy hit the younger boy. He had not been offered such an opportunity despite his high status. Cloud had riches and expensive possessions beyond the average servant__'__s wildest dreams. He was waited on hand and foot by maids. He dined at the royal table every night, something that Zack was not even close to doing. The dark haired boy only lived in the castle because his mother was a maid and his father a guard. He was a peasant surrounded by luxury._

_Zack stretched his legs out in front of him and leant back on the palms of his hands. He smoothed the bandage wrapping across his left eye that had a strand running across the bridge of his nose. "I think I look pretty tough with this."_

"_Isn't it hard to see?"_

"_My vision is a bit limited," He waved his left hand. "I can't see my hand right now." He smiled gleefully, "Doctor says it will heal in a few weeks and it won't leave a scar."_

"_You should be more careful."_

_Zack scoffed. "Listen to you, I am careful."_

"_You fell out of a tree just to get a Scarlet's pet cat, which she accused you of covering in filth because of your class."_

"_I saved the cat didn't I? And she's four, I'm sure she didn't know what she was saying."_

_Cloud shrugged, rubbing his skull where the other boy had hit him. A long silence passed over them. Zack smiled when the blonde boy looked over at him. He couldn't help but look at Zack's bandaged eye, broken wrist and bruised collar bone. He was dressed in old raggedy clothes that had no doubt been passed down from his older cousin. The rags hung loosely over his constantly growing frame._

"_What's that look for?" Zack poked Clouds nose. _

_Cloud drew away quickly. "Nothing."_

"_You're so down today, did you get a letter from your mother? Where is she?"_

_The blonde boy shrugged nonchalantly. His exterior gave an impartial appearance, however his inside was quaking with everything from envy to rage to agony to despair. "Yeah. It came early this morning. She and Cloudestine are staying in the Northern Continent. His father is sick and he's trying to get his affairs in order before he passes."_

"_I'm sorry to hear that about your grandfather." _

"_I never met him. They don't take me anywhere. They're always going away and leaving me here. I haven't seen them in three whole years." _

"_You don't need them Cloud, you've got me," Zack gestured to himself with his thumb. He gave the younger boy a large toothy grin, revealing a missing tooth. "We've been together forever, best friends."_

"_Well, it's good that you're awake now Strife," A male__'__s voice caused the boys to jump. A spectacled man with brown hair slicked back and a moustache strolled casually into the courtyard. He held a large bag of medical supplies in one hand. He wore a long white jacket atop of a vest, long white shirt and a burgundy cravat. The man stood in front of the two boys._

"_Father!" the voice of a child called out. Doctor Gast turned to the entrance to the courtyard to see a young girl with lustrous brown, wavy hair scampering towards him. She wore a pink dress with several layers of ruffles. When her large emerald eyes fell upon Zack and Cloud, she nervously hid behind her sire._

_The man chuckled lightly. "It's alright Aerith. Boys, I would like you to meet my daughter, Aerith. Aerith, this is Cloudestine Von Strife and Zachary Fair."_

_Cloud's stomach fluttered at the sight of the girl, a feeling he had never felt before. However, he was not the only one with that feeling._

The blonde General closed his eyes and breathed deeply, remembering what Zack had said to him that day. _"Someday, I'm going to marry that girl." _

Tifa swallowed any feelings of guilt she had, pushing them aside for later, like she had done with so many other things over the years. Shoeless, with head held high, she walked away from the group of people. Her body had regained all sense of mobility during Cloud's monologue on the subject of himself. She heard Cloud trying to console the lady in pink. She even heard her name mentioned a few times in ill favour, but she kept walking.

"Tifa!" Angeal called out from behind her. The dark haired woman ignored him, pressing on, attempting to find a hallway that looked slightly familiar. Despite almost every corridor looking the same, there was usually a portrait or expensive drapery that set them apart. She came to a spot in the hallway that forked in three new directions. Ignoring her pursuer, she looked to the left, then to the right. She decided to take a left. A little ways down that hallway, she was faced with the same options. She went forward. "Stop." Angeal called out to her again. Tifa took a right, then another left.

She came to another intersection. It was growing apparent that she was completely lost. Tifa ruffled her hair in frustration. She groaned as she decided that another left was her path. She was stopped before taking the path. A warm hand around her wrist stopped her progress, or lack thereof. Irked on so many levels now, Tifa drew her hand away from him, breaking the unwanted physical contact. "What?!" She snapped.

"First off, when in doubt take a right. Secondly, I have to apologize."

"For what?" Tifa frowned at him.

"I did not think you would catch Strife's eye. I suppose your fight with Sephiroth was ill timed. More people than you realize were watching. The defence meeting had just ended and the three Defence Generals were walking by. I have sneaking suspicion that he is only interested in you because of his personal vendetta against Sephiroth."

"What does that have to do with anything?" The vermillion eyed woman leant her weight on one leg as she folded her arms firmly across her chest.

"Just listen, I am conflicted for I owe someone a great deal. I owe them more than you can ever imagine." He wore a grim expression on his face. Tifa could sense the seriousness of the conversation. She decided to listen rather than react to the fury she felt inside. "I have a momentous debt that I owe. It is not a debt of gil or a debt that can be easily paid off. It is a debt of honour. What I wanted to tell you the other day is that if you were to get a black letter with a silver seal, you should act on it."

"I did receive a black letter with a silver seal."

Angeal gave a relieved sigh. "That is good to hear. He might not show it, be he does like you. And I know that someone has probably told you to give Strife a chance, so me saying that you should give this man a chance would seem redundant. I can honestly say that he and Cloud have next to nothing in common." Angeal ran a gloved hand through his dark hair, smoothing down a few stray strands.

"Were you the one who sent the letter?" Tifa asked quietly.

The dark haired man scanned her face for a moment. "No, didn't you read it?"

"The letter got a little ..._burnt._ I'm not sure who sent it... General Valentine wouldn't tell me either." Tifa confessed, looking off in the distance.

He nodded. "Angeal."

"Hm?" She looked up at him in confusion, only to find that it had not been him who had answered.

"Your presence is required at the offence meeting," Sephiroth walked up to the pair, silver hair trailing after him. He glanced at Tifa. The corners of his mouth twitched for a moment. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Lockhart." He nodded at her.

"Crescent."

Angeal and Sephiroth left Tifa to herself. Her eyes followed them as they headed down the hallway. She listened to their fading voices. "We've just received word. They were three days behind us from Gongaga. When we went east from Mount Nibel, they went north, leaving destruction in their wake. Gongaga, Cosmo Canyon, and Nibelheim have all been completely destroyed. Wutai is under siege and Emperor Godo has sent a distress call to Midgar."

"Nibelheim..." Tifa stared at their receding forms in shock.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope this update was more too you likings, speed wise of course. Let's hear your thoughts! I got some really good reviews from chapter six which made me want to write chapter seven as soon as possible. This was not a filler chapter at all! Damn that Cloud! Trying to drag Tifa into his twisted love triangle. We got some insight into Clouds past as well as Zack**__**'**__**s. The Genesis/Tifa request was noted, don't think I've ignored it. I've never been into G/T so it's a bit harder to fit him in. Gradually, I'm trying. Each of the Generals are important, you may not know why yet. But it's fun to keep guessing! Also, Minerva has no affiliation with "The Goddess" I just needed an elderly sounding name and it seemed to fit perfectly. Also, Cloudestine Percillious Von Strife sound pretty elite don't you think? I wanted to make him sound like even more of a rich kid. **_

_**Not knowing the sender of the black letter's identity must be killing Tifa! Angeal's part at the end of this chapter reveals the identity if you've been paying attention for the past couple of chapters. How will Tifa ever find out?! The plot is going to get a lot thicker from here on out. If it's going too fast let me know.**_

_**Tifa meets Hollander! *GASPUS*(Exaggerated gasp) This is getting exciting! I'm on a roll, I can feel the creative juices flowing and I've been writing for hours every single night this past week.**_


	8. Fledgling

Chapter 8 – Fledgling  
_**A/N: Thank you to Sassay for Beta Reading!**_

* * *

"Azul, that bastard has been a thorn in my side for twenty long years." The King leant forward, looking at all of the prominent war figures at the table evenly.

"Lockhart's final parting gift." The greasy, longhaired advisor, Hojo added. He pushed his large spectacles up the bridge of his nose as he leant forward on his chair, listening intently to every word.

"Father," Rufus cleared his throat. "Would it not be best to come to some sort of agreement with this _Azul_?"

"Azul cannot be bargained with!" The King slammed his fists on the wooden table. "He was working behind the scenes when Lockhart deserted."

"Deserted? I thought he was banished." Rufus frowned at his father.

"As if I would let that mutinous man walk!" The room grew silent. "That man was single handily responsible for the near collapse of my kingdom! To think I let that man into my ranks. General Crescent, you were the one who found Lockhart, what did he have to say?"

"He had nothing to say." Sephiroth stated calmly.

"Why did you not bring him back for questioning?" The weasel of a man named Hojo scolded his kin.

Sephiroth gave his father a level glare. "As I've said, and stated in my numerous reports, Lockhart claimed his own life as well as the life of his children."

"It is in the past," The eldest son, Lazard waved his hand. "We need to focus on the task at hand, Azul has invaded Wutai. That fact that he chose that target and not the City of Mideel or the mass shipping port Junon makes me believe that he is no longer following Lockhart's initial plans."

"Wutai is Migdar's strongest ally," Genesis interjected. "Disposing of them would tip the scales in their favour."

"Where would he get the forces to bring down the mountain city?" The King rose from his seat at the end of the table. He strolled over to the massive map hanging on the wall. His beady blue eyes scanned the map that divided kingdoms by a single line.

"Sire," Hojo began to speak in a nasally voice. "There are pockets of resistance along the country side. Over the years, Lockhart's will has gained definite notoriety."

"Lockhart sought to bring down the Shinra Empire from the inside, not start a war." Lazard said. "It wasn't until the end of the already ongoing war that his actions were brought to attention. He never rallied any troops or attempted to gain publicity."

"Then Azul acts on his own accord, not by the teachings of his superior." Genesis stated what everyone had been thinking.

"Lockhart aided Wutai, Azul seeks to destroy it." Rufus agreed.

"A decision needs to be made about the situation in Wutai. Aid them or let them die out like the rats they are?" Hojo clasped his hands together on the table. "It might be in your best interest to let their numbers dwindle a bit before stepping in. You would look like even more of a hero for stepping in and saving an entire race."

"20,000." Angeal spoke for the first time, gaining the room's attention. "He has an army of 20,000 at his disposal."

"20,000 farmers and villagers who have never seen battle." Hojo scoffed.

Angeal shook his head. "It is no longer about experience, we have less than a half of that. Their sheer numbers would overwhelm us."

"Wutai needs us as much as we do them at this point." Sephiroth spoke up as well.

"Opening up the gates to Wutai refugees would be the best approach. Arm them and we might stand a chance." Lazard said. "Send out the offensive battalions to escort them back safely. Then there's nothing to do but wait until they attack the city. What do you say, your Highness?"

The king paced about for a few moments, stroking his thick, blonde beard. "I want Azul's head on a platter. Crescent, Rhapsodos, Hewley, you leave tomorrow afternoon. The rendezvous point is the River of Nochas. Lazard, send out the word to Wutai. We will aid them if they fight alongside us."

Tifa's eyes widened in shock at the mention of her father's treason. A pale bony hand snaked around her face to cover her mouth while an arm wrapped around her waist. She shrieked into the hand as she was hauled away from the door she had been crouching by. She felt herself get pressed up against the body of someone much taller than she as they dragged her around down the hall, around the corner, and out of range of the door. She tried to throw the assailant off, hitting and slapping them, but it was to no avail.

She was spun around and pushed up against the nearby wall, a hand still on her face.

"Are you mad?!" Vincent's voice was not the usual monotone. He seemed flustered and agitated. "That little stunt could've cost you 10 years in the dungeons. Your birthright would've come to light and you would've been put in there for life."

"What the hell?! Let go of me!" Tifa managed to yank his hand off her face only to have him put it right back on when she yelled.

"Be quiet!" He whispered harshly. There were several loud voices coming from down the hall. The dark haired man grabbed Tifa's wrist and dragged her along another set of corridors. "What was going through your head?"

"What is the big deal?" The vermillion eyed woman pried his hand off her face once again. "I thought you didn't care about me or what I do."

Vincent stepped back to study her face. "I never said that."

"What did my father do?" Tifa put her hands on her hips, standing her ground.

"Your father was a man with morals, you needn't know more."

"Why won't-." Vincent held his hand up to cut her off.

"It is a long story." All agitation was gone from his voice. He returned back to his emotionless demeanour. "It has been made apparent that I cannot see you without an escort, a rule that I am currently breaking."

The voices from before sounded again, much closer than before. There wasn't time to run. He cursed under his breath. The tall man grabbed the back of her head and pressed it into his chest. He picked up her leg, holding it around waist level. Vincent pushed his hips forward against her body. Tifa fought him all the while, clawing and scratching. She had been caught by surprise and hadn't prepared to defend herself.

"I don't see how that..." A loud voice trailed off. A few men from the meeting came around the corner.

The king chuckled, his plump stomach shaking as he did. "Seeing that nanny has got everyone going, eh Valentine?"

Tifa punched him in the stomach, causing him to grunt.

The King laughed again. "Carry on m'boy." After a few moments the group left the dark haired pair, only one silver haired general stayed behind.

Vincent stepped away from Tifa. "My apologies, I didn't see any other options."

Tifa ran forward and slammed her fist into his face with all her weight. "You bastard!" Vincent stumbled backwards, attempting to regain his balance. "Don't ever touch me!" She flew at him again, trying to get another hit on him.

"Calm down Lockhart," Sephiroth restrained her. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Fuck you! Fuck you both! Let go off me asshole!" Tifa flailed in his grip.

"He did it to protect you," Sephiroth hissed in her ear. Vincent held the bridge of his nose with one hand and his eye with the other. Blood poured out of his nostrils and dripped to the floor. The sclera on his left eye was turning crimson from a burst blood vessel, his nose hung crooked on his face.

"He tried to rape me!" Tifa cried out.

"Stop," Sephiroth commanded. She froze, that one word seeming to chill her to her bones. "Look at him, he would never rape anyone."

Tifa looked at the man leaning forward, waiting for the viscous liquid to drain. His crimson eyes rested on Tifa. He didn't seem offended. She had found out that he had a wider spectrum of emotions that he had initially displayed. He closed his eyes and sighed. The dark haired man mumbled something about the infirmary before taking long strides away from his assailant. Breathing heavily, she tried to calm herself down. Sephiroth let her shrug him off.

"Why are you defending him?" Tifa sneered, distancing herself from the silver haired General.

"Vincent and I go way back. He was the one who forged the papers about your death," Sephiroth folded his arms and rested his backside against a nearby wall.

"Why am I dead?" Tifa frowned up at him.

"Children are expected to pay for the sins of their fathers. Without your father to atone for his desertion and treason, you would endure everything in his place."

"I see," Tifa looked away. "Why hide me away and then bring me here?"

"Did you honestly think I didn't know we were being followed? You would've died if you stayed in Nibelheim."

"And it had nothing to do with me scratching you?" Tifa cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Lockhart, a petty man I would be if I let something so trivial perturb me." He began unconsciously rubbing his wrist. "It was not the first time I was cut by a fierce woman. She too thought I was a villain."

"You are a villain." Tifa stated bluntly. "Just because you do a couple of good things, it does not wash the stench of evil from you."

"I have done more for you than you can ever imagine."

"I just met you a week ago." Tifa was taken aback by his sincerity, but didn't falter in her expression.

"We've met a couple of times before then. Do you remember?"

The vermillion eyed beauty scowled. She had no recollection of a silver haired monster in her past. Shaking her head from side to side, she gave him his answer.

"That's too bad," Sephiroth began to walk away from her. "I will be gone for a little while, but I hope you take that time to properly consider my letter." Tifa's stomach contorted as her eyes widened in revulsion. So the letter belonged to Sephiroth. It took several moments for the thought to sink in. "I trust you are wise enough to escort yourself back to your chambers." He waved nonchalantly behind him. Tifa clutched her arms tightly, blood draining from her rigid hands. Her breathing stopped and if she had not been standing, she might have been mistaken for a corpse going through rigor mortis.

* * *

"Miss Tifa are you sick again?" Marlene held her hands behind her back as she skipped towards the older woman. Tifa shook her head and crouched down to meet Marlene and her brother at eye level.

"Not at all," She gave a forced smile. "Just a little tired." The small girl nodded as she accepted the woman's reply. The trio moved through hallway after hallway. The two younger ones had wanted to go for a walk, but the weather looked foreboding outside and kept them strictly to the palace. Marlene and Denzel nattered on about this and that. Tifa was only conscious of their presence and not their words or actions. Her old life seemed so distant. A month ago she was a disrespected female blacksmith living in poverty and a day ago she was a disrespected nanny on date with a pompous General. A year ago she never thought she'd be stomaching the pain of losing yet another one of her siblings at the hands of a soldier. Now she was walking hand in hand with two children of nobility in the largest city in the eastern hemisphere after a mid morning snack.

"Uncle Genny!" Marlene let go of Tifa's and ran up to a man looking over a railing. Tifa's eyes followed the girl as her short legs carried her up to a man in a burgundy ulster with onyx shoulder guards. The tall man flicked his russet head towards Marlene, focusing his pale blue eyes on the girl. His body soon followed as he turned and knelt to meet her in an embrace. He picked her up, balancing her on his hip much like a parent would their own child. Like Tifa had done with Tius. He kissed her forehead tenderly.

"Lady-Bug, you're growing everyday." Genesis spoke softly to the child with a prominent foreign accent. It wasn't Wutainese, but rather, something she hadn't heard before.

"Maybe you're just getting shorter," Marlene replied without missing a beat.

"Perhaps," He smiled softly at her. "But I don't think so. I'm not that old yet."

"Rufus says you have to go away for a while, why Uncle Genny?"

"Some people are in trouble and we're going to save them."

"Isn't it going to be dangerous?" Denzel asked when he and Tifa had caught up to them.

Genesis ruffled the boys hair. "Not to worry mister, we will be back in a fortnight." The man turned his attention to Tifa. She shifted her weight to one foot. "I have not properly introduced myself, I am Genesis Rhapsodos." He reached out for her hand and kissed it tenderly before Tifa drew back quickly and folded her arms tightly across her chest. Brushing off her brash movement, he adjusted the child on his hip. "What are you doing here?" He asked the small girl.

"We wanted to go for a walk," She replied.

"I see, well you are all in for a treat. I do believe a fight is about to start." He gestured to the training courtyard below them where Tifa had once fought against Sephiroth. The vines twisting around the railing should have clued her in sooner. The dark haired woman looked over the railing to see Sephiroth speaking to a couple of soldiers. She turned back to question him but he cut her off, "Keep watching." Cloud burst angrily into the courtyard. "And so it begins."

"Why would there be a fight?" Tifa asked sceptically.

"In the past, a General only takes on a pupil when he is ready to retire. It has been that way for many generations. Young Strife got his rank because he is the King's nephew, but he still needed to apprentice for a couple of years before he could became a full fledged General. Sephiroth was appointed to mentor Strife. Strife went through two years of apprenticing thinking he would be replacing Sephiroth. However, Sephiroth had only finished his apprenticeship a few years prior and is still far from retiring."

"Does it really matter? They're both Generals. And didn't Angeal mentor Zack?" Tifa glanced back at the General next to her.

"The Generals are divided into two categories, offensive and defensive as you may know already. Sephiroth is the leader of the offensive team. It is the hardest and most prestigious role that a General can obtain. He is the only man I think capable of fulfilling that role at the present time. As much as I myself wish to attain it, I am not even close to his calibre. Strife wants it for the glory but the foolish boy doesn't realize that he would hold the lives of thousands of men in his hands." Genesis paused for a moment. "Zack is a completely different story. He was trained under Angeal for a reason. They use the same weapons and have the same style of fighting. Zack is defensive at the moment but if Angeal slips up, Zack will move to the offensive division."

"Slip up?" Before Tifa could get her question answered, her attention was drawn back to the men below.

Sephiroth motioned for the other soldiers to clear the area. The blonde and silver haired men circled each other before each drew their weapon. Cloud unstrapped two thick swords from his back while Sephiroth drew his long masamune, discarding the black sheath off to the side.

"You bore me Strife, every time you catch wind that I'm leaving you try to best me. Are you trying to prove your superiority or are you trying to weaken me so hopefully I'll die in battle? Even if I do die in battle, Angeal is next in line."

Cloud scowled over his blade. The blonde General bounded across the courtyard towards his comrade. Sephiroth stood his ground, waiting for the impact. Cloud brought both blades crashing down on his opponent's masamune. Sephiroth forced Cloud backwards with a shove of his blade. Cloud braced himself before throwing himself back into the fray. The blonde man struck out of pure anger, not thinking of the duel tactically. He brought down his right blade then his left. Right, left, repeat. Sparks illuminated the blades upon each impact.

The older General waited for Cloud to tire himself out. Cloud drew back to catch his breath. Sephiroth dragged his blade across the marble floor, making a sickening sound. Cloud cringed as he met Sephiroth's glare.

"My turn," Sephiroth taunted. With a flick of his wrist, he positioned himself into an attack stance with his right side ahead of his left. With one quick movement, Sephiroth swept his blade against Cloud's as if to give the younger General a warning. The Silver General released a barrage of strikes unto his foe, each growing more and more forceful. It was all Cloud could do to block his attacker's blows. Fear of losing the upper hand drove the boy to shift to the offensive again. Taking advantage of Cloud's transition, Sephiroth made a shallow gouge across the bridge of Cloud's nose.

Cloud drew back with a loud hiss as he assessed the damage. It was obvious that Sephiroth was holding back.

"Your birthday's coming up, correct?" The Silver General cocked his head to the side. "I've thought of a wonderful gift for you."

"How about just fight me seriously?!" Cloud spat. "Hold nothing back."

The corners of Sephiroth's mouth twitched upwards into a cruel grin. "I'd rather not have to tell your uncle that I've sliced up his nephew like a pig."

"Don't fuck with me!" Cloud hollered. "This is the only scratch you're going to get on me." He pointed to his face.

"Very well, I accept your challenge." Sephiroth closed his eyes, exhaling slowly through his nostrils. He held his blade up, tip towards Cloud. Feet apart, he prepared himself. Cloud held his own blades in front of him, awaiting the impact. The silver haired General charged at Cloud, slashing at the boy. For such a long blade, he used it with a great deal of finesse and precision. The blonde boy had not expected such force from the other General and had to take a step back with each couple of hits.

Sephiroth movements were quick, but forceful. It wasn't long before he caught Cloud open. A cut to the arm. "One." Sephiroth said coldly. A slash across the leg. "Two." A gouge on the torso. "Three." Each cut getting progressively deeper. Fuelled solely by panic and adrenaline, Cloud slashed out blindly at Sephiroth. With a simple side step, Sephiroth moved out of the way, catching Cloud`s hip on his blade. "Four." With another side step, Sephiroth was behind a slightly disoriented General. He thrust his blade into the boys shoulder, not close enough to anything to cause serious damage. "Five." Sephiroth cooed as he twisted the blade around, widening the hole.

Cloud groaned loudly behind gritted teeth, dropping one of his swords. Thick crimson liquid ran down Sephiroth's blade. He pulled out, giving another flick of his wrist to clean the blade. A spatter trail of blood stood out prominently against the white and grey marble floor.

Double handing his remaining sword, Cloud turned to charge at Sephiroth. He brought his blade crashing down above the General's head. Sephiroth slashed Cloud across the chest once again, blood seeping out from underneath the torn fabric of his clothing. "Six." Cloud was unable to get another strike against Sephiroth. Sephiroth plunged the tip of his weapon into the boy's foot until he hit the marble on the other side. "Seven." Cloud howled in pain as he dropped to a crouch.

Sephiroth pulled out, repositioning the tip of his blade under Cloud's chin. "One thousand." He looked down at his foe through half lidded eyes. "I am a thousand times superior to you. No matter where you go, or what you do, you will _always _be spoiled scum." Cloud spat on Sephiroth's blade. Sephiroth withdrew his blade and cracked Cloud on the head with his fist. The blonde wobbled for a moment before passing out. "Bring him to the infirmary." He instructed the soldiers looming in the background.

Sephiroth watched as Cloud was dragged away. He pulled out a black handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped his blade thoroughly. When he was finished he placed the piece of cloth back into his pocket and sheathed his sword. Tifa scanned the sword. It looked familiar. She tried to place it but forgot what she was thinking about when Sephiroth looked up directly at her. He gave the woman a quick nod before stalking off in the opposite direction of Cloud.

"He was still holding back." Genesis sighed. "His strength is terrifying. My dears, you must excuse me, I have a few matters I must attend to before my departure." The russet haired man placed Marlene back on the floor. He looked at the girl for several drawn out moments with a forlorn expression. He knelt down and whispered something in Marlene's ear. Marlene giggled and glanced back at Tifa mischievously. "Good bye, I shall return in no time at all." He waved as left the trio.

After he was out of sight, Marlene turned to Tifa with a toothy grin on her face.

"What?" Tifa smiled, playing along with the girl.

"Nothing," Marlene giggled. She whispered something into Denzel's ear who also began to giggle.

"What is it?" Tifa repeated her question.

"Nothing!" The pair said in unison after exchanging glances.

Tifa held her hands out in front of her. "Don't make me do it Marlene, because I will." Marlene shrieked as she and Denzel took off running. The dark haired woman chased after them but not too quickly that her injury would cause her pain. Ducking in and out of corridors, Tifa stalked the two children. She heard a giggle from around the bend. Creeping ever so slowly she was able to jump up and surprise the children. They cried out and tried to make a break for it, but the woman latched on to their clothing tightly, dragging them towards herself. Tifa dropped to her knees behind the children, one arm wrapped around each. She ran her hands up and down both their sides furiously. Her fingertips moving carefully between their ribs, earning squeals of delight from the children.

She continued her tickling assault on them as they contorted in her arms, desperately trying to get away from her. "Are you going to tell me now?" Tifa cooed lightly in their ears.

"Never!" Denzel said between breaths. Tifa continued until both children grew tired and stopped fidgeting. The woman then let go of the two children.

"Fine!" Marlene pouted. "Uncle Genny said, _You are as resplendent as a Banoran sunrise in the midst of wintertide." _She imitated his accent.

"What?" Tifa asked sceptically.

"It means he likes you Miss Tifa." Denzel chimed in. Tifa groaned inwardly. Yet another man wanted her body.

Marlene held out her hands in front of her in the same fashion Tifa had done before. "And now it's our turn." The dark eyed girl flashed her brother a fiendish smirk. The older woman quickly rose to her feet, turning on her heel, she bolted from the two children. She rounded a corner and ran face first into an extremely dense object. She and the object went tumbling down a narrow staircase. The object groaned as it hit his back against every couple of steps. Its arms snaked around to encase her in a protective embrace, keeping her from hurting herself. Eyes shut tightly; she pressed her face into the chest of the object, inhaling the leathery smell.

When they reached a natural stopping point, after what felt like eons of rolling, Tifa cracked her eyes open and pushed herself away from the object. The object dropped his hands to his sides and stared up at her. Tifa looked down to find herself straddling Angeal. Embarrassed and horrified by their position, Tifa attempted to jump backwards. The hem of her dress was caught underneath him. She discreetly tried to yank her dress out without seeming too frantic.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tugging on the dress. The man beneath her was much heavier than she had anticipated.

"Fine," He replied, his eyes never leaving her face. Tifa was just able to get the dress out when she heard a giggle and remembered instantly why she had been running in the first place. She shot upright, pushing off his chest to stand on her feet. After calling out an apology over her shoulder, she continued running. The woman didn't get very far when she was intercepted at the next corridor. Catching her off guard, the two children tackled her to the ground,

Tifa hit the ground hard, the air rushing out of her lungs. They began their own assault on her, tickling up and down her sides, from her hips to her armpits. Marlene danced her fingers behind Tifa's ears as Danzel moved around to the front of her stomach and dug into her hip bones. The dark haired woman bit her lip, a pursed smile grazing her face. Marlene and Denzel pressed onwards. Tifa was unable to contain herself. A strained choking noise erupted from her throat. The noise repeated several more times, each one sounding more and more like a normal human laugh than a dry heave. She hadn't laughed in so long that the noise was foreign and odd to her. She let it continue on its own. The children seemed to be fuelled by the strange sound and only strengthened their resolve.

Angeal, who had witnessed the scene in its entirety, dusted himself off and wandered over to the trio.

"I give up! You win! I surrender!" Tifa called out. The children backed off as the woman flipped onto her back to catch some air. She gasped in surprised when she saw Angeal above her. He had an eyebrow raised at her. Her cheeks were flushed and she was panting heavily. Her hair had fallen out of her bun and lay dishevelled across the floor. A suggestive sight indeed. He balled his hands into fists at his sides, his jaw setting slightly and his brows furrowing. Everything about him seeming to grow more rigid. He swallowed dryly before speaking, "Is everything alright here?"

Marlene nodded quickly, "Yessir! We were just playing!"

"Alright, take care." Angeal left quickly after a prolonged glance at Tifa.

"Well that was weird," Tifa said, sitting up slightly.

* * *

_**A/N: Finally another chapter done. Hope you Tifa/Genesis fans out there liked this chapter. Now you understand why Cloud hates Sephiroth. Poor Vincent! He was only trying to protect her. Things are definitely heating. Sorry it took so long. I still had the plan the background conflict for Tifa's father like, what did he do? Why did he do it? Why was he exiled? I had the general idea (no pun intended) but the conflict just wasn't there. It took me a while to get it sorted out. Things are coming together quite nicely. **_

_**I just moved, going to school now, making new friends, and trying to settle in. So forgive me for not updating sooner! :( **_

_**Now, time to address some concerns that were raised in reviews that more than one person may have had:**_

_**Generally men back then liked woman "huskier" for lack of a better term. Cloud, if many of you haven't noticed is what you call a black sheep. (Pun intended) The majority of the men are fawning over Tifa because she IS the IDEAL body type. Cloud wants her because Sephiroth has set his sights on her, and as we've discovered in this chapter, he hates Sephiroth and wants to sabotage him. Jumping back a bit, during Cloud's flashback, he became infatuated with Aerith but, Zack was in love with her and Cloud could not double cross the closest thing he had to a friend so he let Aerith go. But that didn't mean he stopped caring for her, in fact he was trying to change Tifa into Aerith, hence the comments he made about the flower garden and being thinner. **_

_**The Generals and a select few know about Tifa's father's past. Aerith is not one of those select few. She didn't know about Tifa's father and didn't know not to mention it. Angeal already knew her name was Lockhart when she was taken in at the beginning of the story. It is possible that there are other people with the name Lockhart out there. Though she is one of a kind, her name is not. I'm sure many of you North Americans know a couple with the name Smith. I personally know 6 unrelated Fishers. She isn't really supposed to tell anyone that she is the daughter of General Lockhart, as it would have bad repercussions on Sephiroth and Vincent who forged her death, herself when she is branded a traitor, and Angeal which we will find out why later. **_

_**Bad things happen to good people. It's just the way of life. I prefer stories where the protagonist doesn't get everything they want. A reminder, I can't reply to your reviews if you are anonymous! **_

_**Everything happens for a reason in this story! I hope you all continue to read. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love reviews, good or bad. **_


	9. Vehemence

Chapter 9 – Vehemence

_**A/N: Special thanks to Sassy for beta reading!**_

* * *

A bolt of lightning illuminated the children's room. The three youngest children and their nanny watched from safe within castle walls as a cluster of blurred shapes trudged westward from the city. The vermillion eyed woman squinted at each droplet of water beating down on the horses, caravans, and soldiers making their way through thick layers of muck and grime. Tifa absentmindedly ran her fingers through Denzel's hair. Marlene hummed lightly as she clutched on to the skirt of the older woman's dress.

"What if they don't come back?" the dark haired little girl asked timidly.

"They'll come back." Tifa frowned inwardly. "I think it will take more than a few foes to be rid of Sephiroth."

"Uncle Genny isn't as strong as Sephiroth." Marlene turned her gaze upward to the woman next to her. "What if he gets hurt? Will General Crescent save him?"

"Pathetic! Honestly!" Scarlet taunted from her spot on the couch. "Look at you all, crying over a couple Generals leaving. It just makes me sick." The blonde ran her painted fingers through her silky hair. A scowl marred her face as the others turned in her direction. Scarlet focused in on Marlene. "You shouldn't even be here. It is so obvious that you're not one of the elite Shinra's; just like Lazard and Elena, but at least _they _look the part. No one questions _their _heritage. _You _look nothing like _us. Our _mother was a noble queen whereas _yours _was an overpaid whore."

"What's a whore?" Marlene asked innocently, her true age showing for the first time in a long time.

"Scarlet, that is uncalled for." Tifa moved in front of the youngest, shielding her from Scarlet's fiendish glare. She felt Marlene tiny hand curl around the fabric of her dress even more.

The blonde girl rose from the couch and slinked towards the group. "A whore is a woman who-."

"Enough!" Tifa cut the girl off. "She is still a child. You needn't educate her on such things."

"Oh of course, I shall leave that job to you. Since you are the expert on _whoring_." Scarlet popped her hip out to the side and folded her arms tightly across her chest. Her blue eyed gaze boring into Tifa.

Tifa twitched slightly but otherwise remained calm. Before she could retort, Rufus spoke up. "Give it up Scarlet, you're just upset that you're being sold. It's no reason to take out your anger on Marlene."

"Sold?" The dark haired woman looked at the eldest Prince.

"Yeah, Scarlet is being given to the man with the largest dowry. Also, Denzel has been arranged to marry the princess of Wutai, but that won't happen for several years."

"What?" Tifa and Denzel both look at Rufus, Denzel in horror, Tifa in shock.

"I'm getting married to Yuffie?" Denzel shouted. "Since when?!"

"There's going to be a ball when the Generals return with the Emperor." Rufus paced around the room, ignoring Denzel but continuing to expand on the subject. "Yuffie is the only child of the Emperor so Denzel is to assume rule over Wutai while I stay here to run Midgar eventually. All Scarlet's suitors are invited."

Scarlet scoffed, drawing attention back to her. "Pigs! The lot of them!" Tifa felt a pang of empathy towards the younger girl. "As if I should waste my time on any of them! Pompous, stuck up, impertinent, beef-witted malt-worms!"

"Too bad Sephiroth has asked another," Rufus added fuel to the fire.

"What?!" Scarlet narrowed her glare at her brother, her delicate fists balling at her sides. Tifa glanced warily at Rufus. If Scarlet were to find out that Sephiroth had asked Tifa instead of her, surely the princess would have her revenge.

Before another word could be uttered, there was a knock on the door. The dark haired woman's eyes flicked in the direction of the knock to see two blonde haired people waltz into the room. Lazard and Elena walked up to the group. Lazard pushed his thick spectacles up the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand. His back was perfectly straight and his suit was perfectly pressed. He certainly _looked _every bit as noble as the rest of the children, as much as Tifa hated to agree with Scarlet. Elena stood next to him quietly, her hands folded over top of the skirt of her dress. A blithe smile graced her lips.

"Please come with me, Elena will tend to the children." Lazard looked directly at Tifa; his blue eyed gaze unnerved her. She nodded and decided to follow him out into the hall. The young woman played with her thumbs as she wracked her brain for any possible reason why he would want to speak to her. They had never been within 20 feet of each other before or even spoken. Was he there to inform her that everyone knew of her heritage and she was to rot in a dingy dungeon cell until her flesh become bones? She couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Lazard closed the door tightly behind them. He turned to meet her gaze, she never faltered. The blonde man combed her face, as if looking for something that would clue him in to her thoughts. She gave him nothing.

"Most servants don't make eye contact." He replied coolly after a few moments.

"To be fair, I'm not really a servant." She narrowed her gaze at him.

"I suppose not," He cleared his throat before pressing on. "In a few days time, the Generals will be returning with many more souls. It is my understanding that you are a blacksmith by trade. Why you are currently a nanny beats me." He shrugged his shoulders. "I will never understand my father's reasoning. But I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that he likes to fill the castle with young women that he will eventually seduce and bed." His words left a bitter taste in her mouth as she scrunched up her nose. He waved his hand, getting back on subject. "We are quite shorthanded when it comes to forging weapons and armour. In town, we have only 3 blacksmiths and we cannot meet the demands of the upcoming arrival of our allies. I must ask your assistance in helping us arm our troops."

Tifa toyed with the idea. She'd be out of the palace, away from the Generals and Nobles, and could distance herself from the children. The latter thought left her with guilty feeling. However, if she were out of the castle, there would be far less security to watch her and she would then be able to make a run for it. "Perhaps we can come to some sort of _arrangement."_ Tifa raised her eye brows.

"I am listening." Lazard nodded.

"What I really want is freedom, but I doubt you're going to give me that. So I'll settle for something else. I will help you_ if _and only _if _you make sure I don't have to go on any more dates." She folded her arms across her chest.

He scanned her face again, thinking her proposition over carefully. "An odd request. You do realize that depending on the husband you may be able to _buy _your freedom. Why not go through with it?"

"I don't need anyone's help, especially not anyone who is going to reduce me to his personal whore." Tifa hissed lowly, an image of General Strife forming in her head.

"Do not forget your place!" Lazard raised his voice, growing irritated. "You are here as a prisoner, the fact that I asked you first should be seen as an act of good faith on my part. I could have you chained to the forge at any given time!" There was a slight throbbing of vein in his forehead. "May I remind you that you have no rights. You are trapped in a life of servitude until you finish your sentence or buy your way out."

The dark haired woman got the sense that the last part of his outburst wasn't entirely directed at her. Tifa curled her fingers and dug in her feet. "You may chain me to the forge all you want but that doesn't mean I'm going to a good job. Tell me, how would it be if your _father _heard that you forced someone to make hundreds of weapons and pieces of armour that shattered on impact?"

"You will forge to the best of your ability or you will rot." The slender blonde man attempted to intimidate her, taking care to stand at his full height.

"Your threats don't frighten me," Tifa straightened to her own full height and got into his face.

* * *

Tifa cursed aloud as she brought a large hammer down on a torrid piece of scrap metal. Fuming, she turned and slammed the hammer down on the chain attached to her ankle. She heard one of the guards that was keeping an eye on her tell her to knock it off. She threw the scrap metal in the furnace before picking up the hammer. Removing the metal from the furnace she began the cycle all over again, ending with hitting the chain with the hammer and shoving the metal in the furnace.

She was right when she had suspected that the guards were too stupid to understand what she was doing. If she kept hitting the chain in the same spot each cycle, in a few hours she would be free.

"Lazard has a funny sense of humour doesn't he?" One of the other men working in the blacksmith looked over at her, removing his goggles. He ran a gloved hand through his dark hair and gave Tifa a toothy grin. His face was covered in soot but she recognized him as one of the Generals, the one that looked like a younger, boyish version of Angeal. He moved closer to her. She noticed he had a chain around his own ankle that was twice as thick as hers. "Chaining up nannies and Generals? Boy, Lazard must be _really _desperate. Personally, I think he gets his kicks from showing off superiority."

Tifa ignored him and went back to her cycle. Metal, metal, metal, chain, furnace. Metal, metal, metal, chain, furnace. Metal, metal -.

"Name's Zack Fair," The man stuck his hand out in front of Tifa. "The best looking General out of the lot!"

"Back away or you'll lose your entire arm." She glowered at him, not in any mood for exchanging pleasantries.

"So cold!" He shivered dramatically. "And here I was just trying to make conversation." The dark haired man pretended to wipe a tear from his eye as he held a hand over his heart. "So how did you get roped into working in the blacksmith?" When she didn't respond the man continued. "Me? My grandfather was a blacksmith. I spent many of days by the forge but it wasn't for me, you know? So, like many young men I joined the army and eventually ended up becoming a General. And just because I know my way around the forge does not mean he can treat me like this!" Zack yelled the last part at one of the guards and shook his fist angrily at them. He turned his attention back to the girl. "I tell ya, never, get drunk when you're around Lazard. He will make you promise him something but by the time morning comes around, you won't remember it. That sneaky bastard! Clever though." The man seemed more jovial than angry.

"Why are you bothering me?" She asked angrily.

"I like pretty girls!" He stated bluntly, leaning in. "You cannot even begin to imagine what it's like spending weeks in battle without the sound of a light giggle or the sight of well rounded hips swaying back and forth as she walks..." He paused for a moment, day dreaming about his words. "But, Miss Tifa, I am in love with another. You would do well to stop flirting with me."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. She couldn't tell if he was joking or if he was serious. His whole existence seemed to be one big farce.

"Speaking of in love with another," Zack moved in front of her anvil. "A little bird told me _you_ are creating quite the scene in the castle. Well, a little bird didn't tell me anything, I was in the garden that day. First Cloud, then Sephiroth, who next? My cousin seems to be fond of you but he is too proud to act on it. Sometimes he gets shy. I heard that Genesis also like brunettes. And what about Vincent? Do you fancy yourself the one to melt the ice in his soul? How funny would it be if you were to catch the eyes of every General? Myself not included because, as I've mentioned, I'm in love with another."

"Was I too subtle before? Let me try again, if you do not stop talking to me, I will pulverize your body into a fine powder and sprinkle it atop of the dead and rotting carcass of your _loved one_."

"That's so specific!" Zack said.

"That's it," Tifa raised her hammer above her head, just before she was about to slam it into the General, a voice caught her attention.

"One of a kind Nibelheim relics! Get your hand crafted swords by the famous Dragon Blacksmith of Nibelheim." A large man stood behind a small stand in the middle of the town. Weapons and armour hung from the stand. The man had grey hair tied behind his head with a single piece of rope. The lower half of his face was covered in a thick, grey beard. He wore a piece of thoroughly polished armour, much like the ones he had on display. There was a group of young boys huddled around the stand asking questions. "I saw it with my own eyes! If you use this dagger, the legendary Black Dragon will be summoned but it will only work for those who are pure of heart! This sword here calls forth the White Dragon! This armour protects you against all Dragon attacks! This may be your last chance to purchase Dragon armour and weapons! Rumour has it that the blacksmith was so powerful that the dragons turned on him! He no longer walks among us."

Tifa narrowed her eyes at the man. She side stepped Zack and the anvil she had been working at. The chain only allowed her to move to the edge of the smithy. "Excuse me?! What do you think you're doing Zangan?"

The man looked up in bewilderment. "Tifa?" He stood there in silence for a moment before he made his way over to where she was standing. "I heard that Nibelheim was burnt to the ground. I thought you had gone along with it, my child."

"No, there were insinuating circumstances and I was drugged to Midgar."

"You mean dragged?"

"No, drugged." She shook her head, jiggling the chain with her foot.

He glanced at the chain then back to her face. "How are you doing?" His expression was that of general concern.

"It could always be better."

"Yes, but it could also always be worse. Where is little Tius?"

"As much as it is a relief to see a familiar face, I have to wonder why in the world you are selling my merchandise with this whole _Dragon Blacksmith _act. I claimed no such thing when I sold my stuff to you!" She frowned, changing the subject.

"Shh!" The elderly man looked back at the children around his stand. "The stuff sells for more if people believe it's enchanted."

"But you're lying to them."

"Yes, and I also lied when I said I just _happened _to be in Nibelheim looking for a great blacksmith."

"What?" Tifa folded her arms across her chest, hammer still in hand.

"Well, I guess I can tell you the truth since it looks like you won't be able to sell your merchandise to me anymore." He gestured to the chain. "Several years ago I was approached by a man who had a business proposition for me. He said he would pay for me to travel to Nibelheim, buy out most of the blacksmith's stock, and come back to Midgar. When I came back, he told me to sell the items and keep 30 percent of the profit for myself. Nobody knew who you were, so I invented a story about you being a blacksmith with untold magical powers."

"This man, what did he look like? Does he have a name?"

"This was three or four years ago. I haven't seen him since the first few months we met. He sends a servant to pick up the money now. Scary bastard though, the man not the servant. I think his name started with an S? Sss-somthing. If I heard it I'd recognize it."

"Sephiroth?" Tifa's eye twitched.

"That's it! Tall man, silver hair, menacing stare."

The dark haired woman felt as if she had been clipped in the stomach. Zack came up behind her, having listened to the entire conversation, smiled cheerfully at her. "Sounds like you owe the General a date."

Frowning, she went back to her anvil. Zangan bowed and left the smithy. She resumed pounding away at the metal. Zack wandered back to his own station leaving the young woman to her thoughts. The question that bothered her most was why, why would Sephiroth do those things for her? Why would he stick his neck out and risk imprisonment and excommunication? He sends her to the hospital wing one day and a letter the next? The man's insanity knew no bounds. There was something everyone was keeping from her. She could feel it right to her very core. Something that no one was telling her. It irked her, much like her father brushed off her questions when she was young.

She sighed heavily, collecting her thoughts from the very beginning. Sephiroth had told her that he had done more than she could ever imagine. Angeal owes Sephiroth a debt of honour which might explain why she hadn't received a letter from Angeal. Angeal was _giving _her to Sephiroth. The thought of such an act made Tifa begin to hammer harder. Sephiroth claimed to have met her a long time ago, but she hadn't the slightest bit of recollection of him. Zangan had said that Sephiroth approached him three or four years prior. Four years prior was the time that Tius was born. The only time she would've been in contact with a soldier was...

Tifa dropped her hammer and slipped to her knees on the dirty blacksmith floor. She began to shake violently. Her eyes grew wide with trepidation as her breathing became shallow and ragged. "He couldn't have..." she felt bile begin to rise in the back of her throat. She had to know. Sephiroth _and _Vincent had forged her death. Her best option was to confront General Valentine, demanding answers. Had they just been toying with her the entire time? She hoped desperately that she was just jumping to conclusions because there was still a large part of the puzzle missing. But her instincts told her that she was right.

She popped her head up to see where the General was. Zack was looking at her with a worried expression. "Everything alright?" He asked. "You don't look so good. Maybe you should pay a visit to Doctor Gast."

She shook her head. "Just leave me be." Tifa rose to her feet. The vermillion eyed woman, whose dress was more soot than cloth, grabbed her hammer and made her way over to the spot on the chain that she had been pounding at. Franticly, she began to drive her tool into the chain with new found determination to escape.

One of the guards came over to her, yanking her back by her hair. She gritted her teeth as she was hauled backwards and placed back at her anvil. "Didn't I tell you to knock it off?" The guard said in a gruff voice. Tifa slammed her hammer into his chest armour, causing a massive dent. The guard dropped her and drew back in surprise. He took in the damage she had done. "You filthy bitch! This'll cost a fortune to repair!" He reached out to grab her again. His heavy armour limited his mobility and she was able to give him a crack in the shoulder. Tifa viciously ripped the weakened chain apart.

Hammer in hand, she bolted from the blacksmith; side stepping past civilians as she ducked in and out of city streets. Her chest ached with each breath but she pressed onward. She stopped when she came to a crossroads. In front of her lay an open city gate. It would take her to her freedom. Her fingers twitched at her sides. To her right lay the castle where inside laid a man who had _all _the answers to _every _question she_ ever_ had.

She looked between the two directions. She was torn. When she glanced back at the gate, guards were grouped up and coming in her direction. The dark haired woman had missed her chance. There was a call of guards behind her. She pushed on to her right, bounding up the castle steps, into the main courtyard, more steps and then a foyer. The guards inside hadn't been expecting her, Tifa dashed past them; sprinting down hallway after hallway and up several flights of stairs until completely by chance, she found the library.

The dark haired woman threw open the doors to see a raven haired man grabbing a book out of a copper haired girl's hands and stuffing it into his tunic. Tifa panted for a moment as she stood in the doorway. A call came behind her and she closed the doors quickly, silencing the voices of the guards.

"You... knew..."She said between breaths as she clutched her chest tightly. "You knew everything ... all along." Vincent said nothing as he watched the girl come closer. "He was there... and you said nothing!" She grabbed on to the fabric of his shirt with the hand that wasn't holding the blunt weapon. "Were you there as well? Has this all just been some sick game to you?!"

His crimson eyes scanned hers. His demeanour remained as stoic as ever.

"I will take my leave," Shelke said in her monotone voice. The tall man nodded at her as she left the pair listening to the sounds of Tifa attempting to get her breathing under control.

"You need to calm yourself." He said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Voices tend to carry in this castle." He motioned with his eyes to several other people who were in the library, watching the scene transpire.

"I don't give a fuck! I just broke out from being chained to a forge all afternoon, smashed a guard's shoulder in and ran across the city in order to find you!"

"I'm flattered," Vincent replied coolly. The woman's face contorted in anger but before she could speak, the dark General attempted to diffuse the tension once again. "Have a seat Miss Lockhart." He motioned to the couch. She didn't budge. The dark haired man had to move towards the couch himself, Tifa still latching on to his shirt, in turn, followed him over. They sat down on the couch and she relinquished her stone grasp.

"You sat there that night and told me all this information but you didn't tell me the most important parts!" She balled her free fist up at her side.

"A man can lead a horse to water, but he cannot make it drink." He paused and Tifa opened her mouth in an attempt to spew something vulgar at him, but he continued and she closed her mouth. "I gave you all the information you needed to know at the time. Have I not always answered your questions?"

She frowned at the General.

Vincent closed his eyes and collected his thoughts with an elongated sigh. "You must understand that I'm older than all the other Generals. I have lived in this castle for over 30 years. I have heard and seen many things. When I say something is not my place to say, it is not because I am hiding it from you, but merely that it is someone else's personal matter. I have never played _games_ with you. I _have _subtly tried to point you in the right direction but I can see now that that has failed.

"To answer your other questions, yes, I knew and know all the garish details about what happened. The _he _I'm assuming you mean being Sephiroth, was there but not in the sense that you think. No I was not there. I said nothing because I had hoped to prolong this confrontation for as long as possible. To answer your next few questions that are no doubt worming their way into your mind, I knew right away that you were the daughter of the former General, having known him; you have similar mannerisms and personalities. Though you look much more like your mother, I'm assuming. I had the utmost respect for your father. A fine man indeed, I wouldn't turn you in because that would be a disgrace to his memory.

"I knew that eventually you would start fitting the pieces together, but you've put them in the wrong way and I think deep down you know that. Sephiroth is not the man you are angry with and neither is Angeal. The reason you are upset with them is because they have both tried to help you but you are under the illusion that you do not require assistance of any sort. Your accusations are unfair and if you go around pointing fingers, it will not only ruin your cover, but the integrity of both Generals. I am not covering up for either man; I am saying that you need to really think about things before you approach either one of them upon their return. I have seen many people throw their lives away looking for revenge. I have walked the same path you are walking now. As hard as it is, you should let it go. You do not want to end up like me.

"I told you I became a General to protect someone. I was unable to do so and spent over a decade trying to undo something that could never be undone. Both Angeal and Sephiroth are good men. Remember that."

"I told you I wanted to know everything. You're beating around the bush."

Vincent fished inside his clothing for the book he had taken from Shelke earlier. He held out an old leather bound journal with the initials T.L. inscribed on the spine. "Your father kept a journal until the day he died. Sephiroth picked it up for me when he picked you up." The dark haired man pushed the book towards her.

"Is this some kind of joke? You know I can't read it." She took the leather in her hands.

"Well, we'll have to fix that." He fished in his clothing once again and pulled out a red letter with a black seal, placing it on top of the book. Tifa stared at the letter, then up at Vincent, then back to the letter. "If you want to read, then you must make arrangements for a date. That is the only time we can be together semi-privately."

* * *

_**A/N: Sooooorrrry! I've had this chapter done for quite some time but I didn't get around to posting it right away and then I ended up forgetting about it! **_

_**I was really happy to start pushing the plot forward. Tensions are running high with Scarlet, Tifa's doubting Angeal and Sephiroth, Vincent's giving her life advice, oh my! What will happen next? I hope that you don't get turned off by the idea of a "ball". It's not going to be the corny, stereotypical, "girl gets dressed up, all eyes are on her, omg everyone's in love Cinderella-esk" sort of ball. The summary does say that it's a dark fic, so you may want to brace yourselves because we're going to get quite graphic and quite dark the farther we get into the story.**_

_**I really do want to warn people there will be material that deals with serious topics like rape, child molestation, suicide, and murder. The subjects will be a lot more prominent in coming chapters, much more than in past chapters. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope you bear with me until the end. Things always get worse before they can get better. But occasionally they just get worse.**_


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